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Under  the  Elms 


THE  OBERLIN  CHOIR 

The  Oberlin  College  Choir,  directed 
by  Robert  Fountain,  associate  professor 
of  singing,  gave  its  annual  local  concert 
in  Finney  Chapel  April  8 following  a 
triumphant  concert  tour  of  ten  eastern 
cities,  including  New  York  and  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.  New  York  critics  were 
unanimous  in  their  praise  of  the  choir’s 
performance  in  a concert  in  Town  Hall 
on  March  31,  calling  attention  to  the 
"exceptional  conducting  of  its  director,” 
the  "delicate  rhythmic  control,”  the 
"fine  grasp  of  a wide  variety  of  styles,” 
the  "quality  that  a professional  choir 
might  envy”  and  that  was  "a  joy  to 
hear.” 

STUDENT  PUBLISHES  BOOK 

Cynthia  Bowles,  a junior  in  the  Col- 
lege, is  the  author  of  a book  recently 
published  by  Harcourt-Brace  & Com- 
pany. At  Home  in  India  is  Cynthia’s 
personal  reactions  to  her  experiences  in 
New  Delhi  and  a school  at  West  Bengal 
from  October,  1951,  to  June,  1953, 
while  her  father,  Chester  Bowles,  was 
ambassador  to  India. 

With  no  intention  at  the  time  of 
writing  a book  (she  was  fifteen  years 
old  when  her  father  received  his  ap- 
pointment), she  nevertheless  kept  a 
full  diary  of  the  things  that  impressed 
her  day  by  day. 

After  her  return  to  this  country  she 
was  urged  by  a friend  of  her  father's 
to  put  her  reactions  in  the  form  a 
book.  Encouraged,  also,  by  her  father, 
she  set  to  work  at  once  doing  so.  She 
completed  her  task  last  October. 

The  book  has  been  very  favorably 
reviewed  by  the  press,  critics  calling 
attention  to  her  "remarkably  clear- 
eyed viewpoint,"  and  commenting  that 
she  writes  "with  clarity  and  an  almost 
transparent  sincerity.” 

A transfer  from  the  University  of 
Chicago,  Cynthia  is  majoring  in  soci- 
ology. She  hopes,  eventually,  to  return 
to  India  and  engage  in  public  health 
work. 

WOODROW  WILSON 
FELLOWSHIPS 

Three  seniors  and  one  graduate  of 
Oberlin  have  received  National  Wood- 
row  Wilson  Fellowships  for  advanced 
study  in  1956-57.  They  are  Mary  Ann 
Singleton,  Oberlin,  Ohio;  Owen  P. 
Thomas,  Lakewood,  Ohio;  Paul  Davis, 
Chester,  Pennsylvania;  and  Alan  A. 
Dore,  Glendale,  Missouri,  who  gradu- 
ated in  1952. 

Mary  Ann,  whose  father  is  associate 


professor  of  English  at  Oberlin,  and 
whose  mother  is  editor  of  the  Alumni 
Magazine,  will  study  English  at  North- 
western University.  She  received 
freshman  and  sophomore  honors  and 
studied  at  St.  Andrews  in  Scotland  dur- 
ing her  junior  year.  She  is  a member 
of  Musical  Union  and  the  editorial 
staff  of  the  Yeoman,  college  literary 
magazine. 

Owen  Thomas,  a former  Seabee,  will 
do  graduate  work  in  English  at  the 
University  of  California  at  Los  Angeles. 
Also  on  the  editorial  staff  of  the  Yeo- 
man, he  is  director  of  a creative  writing 
workshop  sponsored  by  that  publica- 
tion and  the  author  of  several  short 
stories  published  in  its  pages. 

Paul  Davis,  also  an  English  major, 
plants  to  study  at  the  University  of 
Wisconsin.  He  is  currently  a member 
of  the  Forum  Board  and  the  essay  staff 
of  the  Yeoman.  He  has  acted  in  sev- 
eral plays  given  by  the  Oberlin  dramatic 
Association. 

Alan  Dore  plans  to  study  history  at 
Columbia  University.  As  an  under- 
graduate he  was  a member  of  the  Col- 
lege Choir,  the  Oberlin  Orchestra,  and 
the  symphony  band. 

Nominations  for  the  fellowship  are 
made  by  the  faculties  of  their  under- 
graduate colleges  on  the  basis  of  candi- 
dates’ "marked  promise  for  the  teaching 
profession”  and  possession  of  the 
"highest  qualities  of  intellect,  character 
and  personality.” 

MONSANTO  CHEMICAL  GRANT 

Oberlin  is  one  of  sixteen  liberal  arts 
colleges  to  receive  a cash  grant  of  $1000 
for  the  1956-57  school  year  from  Mon- 
santo Chemical  Company.  It  may  be 
used  at  the  school’s  discretion  to  fi- 
nance research,  purchase  equipment,  or 
further  any  other  scientific  purpose. 


In  announcing  the  grant  the  company 
indicated  that  it  recognizes  the  im- 
portance and  desirability  of  a liberal 
arts  background  for  higher  scientific 
training  and  wishes  to  aid  those  liberal 
arts  colleges  which  are  giving  basic 
preparation  to  their  students  for  scien- 
tific careers,  primarily  in  chemistry  or 
chemical  engineering. 

INTERCOLLEGIATE  ALUMNI 

June  graduates  heading  for  the  New 
York  City  area,  or  recent  graduates  now 
living  in  the  area,  may  be  interested  in 
knowing  about  Intercollegiate  Alumni, 
a club  for  young  college  graduates. 
Operating  on  a non-profit  basis,  its  350 
members  plan  and  carry  out  each 
month  a varied  group  of  activities  such 
as  hikes,  dances,  tours,  discussion 
groups.  Headquarters  are  at  215  West 
23rd  Street. 

MILITARY  BALL 

Oberlin’s  final  Military  Ball,  pre- 
sented by  the  Air  Force  Reserve  Of- 
ficers Corps,  was  held  on  Saiturday 
night,  April  14,  at  Hales  Gymnasium 
to  the  music  of  Sauter-Finegan  Orches- 
tra. Guests  arriving  at  the  Ball  walked 
between  the  two  lines  of  an  Honor 
Guard  of  ROTC  members  standing  at 
attention.  Out  of  town  guests  of  honor 
included  Maj.  General  and  Mrs.  Rus- 
sell A.  Ramsey,  Rear  Admiral  and  Mrs. 
Frank  A.  Leamey,  Brig.  General  and 
Mrs.  George  Schmuker,  Capt.  (USN) 
and  Mrs.  G.  W.  Clegg,  Lt.  Col.  and  Mrs. 
R.  W.  Jacobi,  Major  and  Mrs.  Walter 
Stuech,  Lt.  Commander  Thomas  Moore, 
and  Lieutenant  (USN)  and  Mrs.  Hall. 
During  the  intermission  Miss  Toni 
Browning,  ’58,  of  Chicago,  Illinois,  was 
presented  as  the  Honorary  Corps  Com- 
mander, chosen  by  cadets. 


Swanberg,  '58 


DANCING  to  the  strains  of  Sauter-Finegan  orchestra  at  the  final  Military  Ball, 
held  at  Hales  Gymnasium  on  April  14. 


The  Oberlin  Alumni  Magazine.  May.  1956.  Volume  52.  Number  6.  Published  monthly  except  in  June,  August,  September.  December.  Publisl 
by  the  Alumni  Association  of  Oberlin  College,  Inc.  Subscription  prices:  $3.50  a year,  $6.00  for  two  years.  Single  copies,  45  cents.  Entered  as  s 
class  matter,  October  3,  1904,  at  the  post  office  in  Oberlin,  Ohio,  under  the  Act  of  Congress  of  March  3,  18/9. 


In  This  Issue 


OM*r 1,56 

ALUMNI  MAGAZINE 

VOLUME  52  Member  American  Alumni  Council  NUMBER  6 

Mercedes  Holden  Singleton,  x’2 6, 

Leslie  H.  Fishel,  Jr.,  ’43,  Executive  Secretary 
Lorraine  Hoffman,  Advertising  & Circulation 


Contents 


2 

Under  the  Elms 

3 

We  Think  . . . 

4,5,11 

Freedom's  Challenge 

H.  A.  Williams,  Jr.,  ’41,  M.C. 

6,7,11 

From  the  Rim  of  Asia 

Jerome  Davis,  13,  LL.D.,  ’33 

8-10 

The  Right  to  Ask 

Paul  F.  Schmidt 

12-13 

Modern  Sculpture 

Chloe  Hamilton,  ’48 

14-15 

Through  the  Years  With  O.D.A. 

15 

The  Faculty  and  Staff 

16,17,18,19,30 

So  Well  Remembered 

Nathaniel  R.  Howard,  x’19 

20 

Campus  Commentator 

Wayne  Foote,  ’56 

21-23 

Alumni  Clubs 

24 

Oberlin  in  Sports 

William  I.  Judson 

25-30 

Ten  Thousand  Strong 

Dorothy  M.  Smith,  ’29 

31 

Losses  in  the  Oberlin  Family 

Cover  Photograph  by  A.  E. 

Princehorn 

The  next  issue  of  the  Alumni  Magazine  will  be  published  in  July 


We  Think  . . . 


E THINK  we  would  like  to  hear 
some  of  your  views  on  higher 
education.  Mind  you,  we  have  plenty 
of  our  own,  but  we  are  impressed  with 
the  small  number  of  alumni  outside  of 
Oberlin  who  have  spoken  or  written  to 
us  with  conviction  about  the  changing 
nature  of  higher  education  — or  its 
failure  to  change.  Why  should  you 
express  your  own  opinions?  Simply 
because  your  training  was  Oberlin  and 
because  Oberlin  College  has  taken  and 
should  take  a leading  role  in  setting 
standards  in  higher  education. 

The  reply  of  a former  college  presi- 
dent to  the  mother  of  a prospective 
student,  "Madam,  we  guarantee  results 
— or  we  return  the  boy,”  says  much  to 
an  age  desperately  in  need  of  techni- 
cians and  engineers.  Can  any  institu- 
tion guarantee  the  product  or  does  it 
want  to?  The  days  of  rote  learning 
and  courses  in  moral  philosophy  have 
left  us,  but  with  what?  The  time  has 
come  for  us  to  record  what  we  expect 


a college  to  do  with  its  material.  High 
enrollments,  teacher  scarcity,  increased 
student  mobility,  national  and  inter- 
national insecurity  add  up  to  one  big 
question  mark:  how  can  colleges  help? 

Some  say  that  training  in  business 
leadership  will  do  the  trick.  Others 
feel  that  the  skills  of  living  and  earning 
a living  are  essential  for  college  stu- 
dents. Some  universities  have  adopted 
"general  education”  programs  to  per- 
mit the  integration  of  disciplines,  the 
exposure  of  students  to  many  areas  of 
knowledge,  and,  consequently  to  force 
the  traditionalists  to  revaluate  their 
own  preconceptions. 

Where  does  Oberlin  stand?  Ober- 
lin seems  to  us  to  be  poised  on  the 
brink  (if  we  may  use  this  term  with- 
out prejudice)  of  a series  of  substan- 
tial studies  of  its  own  overall  educa- 
tional program  and  its  relation  to  other 
institutions  across  the  nation.  These 
studies  will  take  years.  They  are  neces- 
sary. They  will  be  time-consuming. 
They  will  be  thorough.  They  will  add 
measurably  to  the  policies  and  pro- 
grams of  higher  education  across  the 
country.  What  do  you  think? 

L.  H.  F„  Jr. 


OUR  COVER  shows  a section  of 
the  kindergarten  in  the  new, 
modern  Eastwood  School  erected  on 
East  College  Street  and  dedicated,  along 
with  the  new  dormitories  and  hospital 
wing  on  April  14-15.  The  practice 
teacher  from  the  College  conducting 
the  group  under  the  guidance  of  Mrs. 
Philip  Thomas  (Betty  Glenn,  ’36)  is 
Sylvia  Sitterly,  ’56. 

W HAT  DIRECTION  should 
United  States  policy  take  with 
respect  to  foreign  aid?  Harrison  R. 
(Pete)  Williams,  '41,  M.C.,  member  of 
the  Foreign  Relations  Committee, 
would  answer:  Establish  a Develop- 
ment Bank.  For  a discussion  of  this 
proposal,  please  turn  to  page  4. 

ARE  THERE  any  areas  in  which  the 
final  answer  has  been  found? 
that  are  sacred  from  inquiry?  Paul 
Schmidt,  assistant  professor  of  phi- 
losophy, discusses  those  and  related 
questions  in  The  Right  to  Ask.  Please 
turn  to  page  8. 

T EROME  DAVIS,  13,  trustee  of  the 
J College,  has  just  returned  from  an 
extended  visit  to  Japan.  For  his  inter- 
esting observations  From  the  Rim  of 
Asia,  please  turn  to  page  6. 

IGNIFICANT  ADDITIONS  to  the 
Art  Museum  are  five  pieces  of 
modern  sculpture  by  Rodin,  Degas,  and 
others.  They  are  pictured  on  page 
12,  along  with  comments  by  Miss 
Chloe  Hamilton,  ’48,  curator  of  the 
Museum. 

( i T~'\  EDICATION  DAYS,”  April 
1 14-15,  brought  Nathaniel  R. 
Howard,  x’19,  College  trustee  and  edi- 
tor of  the  Cleveland  Neivs  to  the  cam- 
pus as  principal  speaker.  For  his  nos- 
talgic remarks  and  a view  of  the  newest 
buildings  in  Oberlin  turn  to  page  16. 

TO  BRING  yourself  up-to-date  with 
the  various  activities  that  go  on 
month  after  month  in  the  Alumni 
Clubs  throughout  the  nation  please 
turn  to  page  2 1 . 

CONTINUING  THE  publication 
of  the  plays  produced  by  the 
Oberlin  Dramatic  Association  in  its 
40  years  of  existence,  we  present,  in 
this  issue,  the  Second  Decade.  Turn 
to  page  14. 


We  need  a 1956  model  in  foreign  aid 
to  stop  the  Communist  advance 


"It  was  at  Oberlin  that  there  dawned  on  me 
. . . the  first  understanding 
of  the  twentieth  century  tyrannies, 
fascism  and  communism.  . . ." 


Freedoms 

Challenge 


By  Harrison  A.  Williams,  Jr.,  ’41,  M.C. 


T HAVE  CONSIDERED  many  subjects  in  determining 
4 the  topic  for  this  article,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  what 
would  be  most  interesting  to  readers  of  this  magazine  is 
Oberlin's  impact  on  my  thinking  and  philosophy  as  they 
apply  to  my  job. 

In  the  Congress,  1 am  a member  of  the  Committee  on 
Foreign  Affairs,  and  I believe  that  Oberlin  had  a decisive 
effect  on  my  thinking  regarding  the  position  of  our  nation 
in  the  world  today. 

The  End  of  Isolationism 

We  all  recall  that  before  World  War  II  the  predominant 
attitude  in  many  circles  was  isolationist.  Many  people, 
including  some  of  our  most  influential  leaders,  looked  up- 
on the  threat  of  totalitarian  fascism  in  Europe  and  Asia  as 


4 


being  of  no  concern  to  us.  The  oceans  were  regarded  as 
impregnable  barriers.  The  full  implications  of  this  cen- 
tury's scientific  revolution  as  it  applied  to  the  development 
of  military  weapons,  and  the  readjustment  in  our  thinking 
necessitated  by  the  altered  power  balance  in  Europe,  had 
not  reached  many  Americans.  Pearl  Harbor  stunned  us 
into  sudden  realization  of  how  drastically  the  situation  had 
changed,  but  much  of  the  intellectual  preparation  that  pre- 
ceded Pearl  Harbor  could  not  have  been  possible  without 
such  enlightened  institutions  as  Oberlin. 

Facing  Reality 

It  was  at  Oberlin  that  there  dawned  on  me  — and  un- 
doubtedly on  many  of  my  classmates  — the  first  under- 
standing of  the  twentieth-century  tyrannies,  fascism  and 


THE  OBERLIN  ALUMNI  MAGAZINE 


communism.  Our  school  began  for  us  the  vitally  necessary 
conditioning  in  facing  the  realities  of  the  twentieth  cen- 
tury. And  while  the  fascist  threat  has  been  subdued,  the 
even  greater  challenge  posed  by  Communism  is  very  much 
with  us.  It  is  this  challenge  which  I want  to  discuss.  What 
are  our  objectives  in  foreign  policy  today? 

First  Objective,  Survival 

The  first,  I think  we  all  agree,  is  simply  to  survive,  as  a 
nation  and  as  individuals.  Our  survival  today  is  imperiled 
by  the  most  virulent  dictatorship  in  world  history.  The 
communist  leaders  have  enslaved  approximately  one-third 
of  the  world's  population  and  they  control  about  the  same 
proportion  of  the  land  area.  They  maintain  the  largest 
peacetime  military  machine  ever  assembled.  They  have 
vast  natural  resources,  some  of  which  they  are  only  begin- 
ning to  exploit.  They  have  agents  and  followers  in  many 
lands.  Most  dangerous  of  all  perhaps  — they  have  de- 
veloped the  techniques  of  non-military  aggression  to  a fine 
art.  They  not  only  threaten  neighbors  with  military  force 
but  they  also  take  advantage  of  every  weakness  of  free  so- 
ciety— economic  depression,  religious  strife,  racial  hatred, 
social  upheaval;  all  those  things  provide  opportunities  for 
the  communists  to  take  over  countries  from  the  inside. 
They  carry  on  a continuous,  multi-pronged  attack  against 
every  area  of  the  free  world  and  have  great  confidence  that 
they  will  eventually  be  successful  in  dominating  the  entire 
planet. 

Western  Supremacy 

While  the  communists  are  far  ahead  of  the  United 
States  in  population  and  territory,  they  are  inferior  to  us 
in  many  ways.  For  example,  their  industrial  establishment 
is  no  match  for  ours.  The  genius  of  our  scientists  and  the 
skill  of  our  workers  have  given  us  considerable  superiority 
in  modern  technology.  Our  over-all  economic  system  is 
vastly  superior.  The  advantage  given  us  by  our  tremen- 
dous treasure  of  natural  resources  is  enhanced  by  the  in- 
spiration and  courage  we  draw  from  the  spiritual  values 
produced  by  an  environment  of  freedom. 

Still  we  cannot  afford  complacency  about  our  position 
in  the  world.  If  the  communist  empire  goes  on  expanding, 
many  advantages  that  we  now  enjoy  will  rapidly  melt  away. 
If  the  communists  are  permitted  to  seize  and  exploit  the 
farms,  factories,  mines,  and  most  of  all,  the  immeasurable 
human  skills  of  Europe,  Asia,  Africa  and  Latin  America, 
we  would  find  ourselves  behind  the  eight  ball.  If  com- 
munist expansion  were  permitted  to  continue  unchecked, 
the  United  States  and  the  rest  of  the  free  world  might 
eventually  be  unable  to  resist.  Communist  expansion  must 
be  stopped.  That  is  implicit  in  our  first  objective. 

Atomic  Suicide 

Our  second  objective  is  equally  important.  We  must 
stop  communism,  if  at  all  possible,  without  allowing  our- 
selves to  become  involved  in  an  atomic  war  which  might 
devastate  this  country  and  the  entire  world.  Enslavement 
is  one  extreme  to  be  avoided;  the  other  is  atomic  suicide. 

There  are  other  important  objectives  of  our  foreign  pol- 
icy. We  must  protect  the  interests  of  American  citizens 
in  all  parts  of  the  world.  We  must  maintain  sound  and 
profitable  economic  relations  with  other  nations;  without 
such  relations  American  industry  and  agriculture  would 
suffer  seriously  and  American  workers  would  be  put  out 
of  their  jobs. 

Human  Rights 

Finally,  in  considering  our  objectives,  we  must  recognize 


those  which  transcend  personal  interests.  There  is  no  rea- 
son to  apologize  for  our  determination  to  protect  our  safety 
and  economic  well-being.  But  we  also  know  that  Ameri- 
cans are  motivated  by  a rich  tradition  of  idealism  and  hu- 
manitarianism. 

We  want  to  protect  the  values  and  principles  of  western 
civilization.  We  want  to  see  that  all  human  beings  have 
a chance  for  a better  life. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  things  about  our  present 
situation  is  that  we  are  at  a stage  in  history  in  which  our 
selfish  interests  and  our  moral  principles  are  in  funda- 
mental harmony.  Mankind  is  entering  an  era  in  which  the 
concept  of  the  Golden  Rule  is  no  longer  simply  a moral 
abstraction;  it  is  a prerequisite  for  human  survival.  To  be 
successful,  our  foreign  policy  must  carefully  blend  idealism 
with  self-interest.  We  must  recognize  the  eternal  truth  of 
the  principle  that  we  help  ourselves  by  helping  others. 

Armament 

The  possession  by  the  Soviets  of  nuclear  weapons  and 
the  ability  to  deliver  them  constitutes  a serious  threat  to 
the  free  world  and  to  the  United  States  itself.  I firmly  be- 
lieve the  only  deterrent  to  such  an  attack  is  our  mainte- 
nance of  a strong  military  force  of  atomic  weapons  and 
the  ability  to  deliver  them  to  the  Soviet  heartland.  But 
we  cannot  over-emphasize  that  modern  hydrogen  weapons 
are  too  terrible  to  be  used  casually.  The  Soviets  and  their 
cohorts  will  undoubtedly  continue  to  foment  internal  revo- 
lution — as  in  Indo-China  — and  subversion  aided  by  mili- 
tary supplies  from  Russia  or  China.  We  must  be  prepared 
to  meet  such  moves;  we  must  be  prepared  without  involv- 
ing ourselves  either  in  the  initiation  of  atomic  holocaust  — 
which  would  be  civilization's  suicide  — or  in  the  other  ex- 
treme, surrender. 

A Fight  of  Ideas 

But  in  considering  how  we  may  meet  these  threats  posed 
by  the  Soviets,  we  must  constantly  keep  before  us  the 
knowledge  that  the  fight  with  communism  is  primarily  a 
fight  of  ideas.  Here  we  have  the  upper  hand,  though  I 
don't  think  we  have  been  forceful  enough  in  explaining 
why  we  have  the  upper  hand.  We  have  not  successfully 
indicated  to  the  world  why  we  have  the  highest  standard 
of  living  on  the  face  of  the  earth  and  why,  while  having  it, 
we  have  continued  to  be  the  citadel  of  liberty  and  the  em- 
bodiment of  the  possibility  of  the  pursuit  of  happiness. 

What  we  do  to  help  other  people  achieve  the  revolu- 
tionary promises  contained  in  our  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence— life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness  — is 
important  to  our  foreign  policy.  People  who  are  starved, 
diseased,  jobless,  homeless,  people  who  have  no  oppor- 
tunity for  personal  betterment  — to  these  people  the  claim 
that  communism  provides  food,  land  and  material  improve- 
ment is  a siren  call. 

A Free  Economy 

I am  convinced  that  lessons  learned  in  our  free  com- 
petitive system  can  work  wonders  in  other  parts  of  the 
world.  It  has  been  suggested  that  past  aid  has  been  irri- 
tating because  it  was  a handout  and  because  it  went  to  the 
already  wealthy.  Some  of  this  criticism  is  justified.  Our 
foreign  economic  programs  must  be  designed  to  create 
vigorous,  competitive  industries  and  businesses,  so  that  in 
industries  the  capable  and  the  alert  can  reach  positions  of 
leadership.  In  addition,  it  must  aim  at  helping  the  poor- 
est, the  most  unfortunate  to  learn  to  help  himself.  Im- 
proving sanitation  and  health,  providing  schools,  educa- 
( Continued  on  page  11) 


FOR  MAY  1956 


5 


A Trustee  Reports  . 


From  the  Rim  of  Asia 


Jerome  Davis,  '13,  LL.D.,  ’33 


r HAVE  JUST  RETURNED  from  a four  months  trip  in 
I the  Far  East,  where  I visited  Japan,  the  Philippines,  and 
Hong  Kong.  Everywhere  I saw  Oberlin  graduates  doing 
important  work.  In  Tokyo  I met  with  Oberlin  graduates 
who  included  missionaries,  business  men,  and  Army  chap- 
lains, all  helping  to  build  a world  of  peace  and  security. 

Japan 

The  situation  of  the  Japanese  is  difficult.  Because  their 
militarists  provoked  a war  at  Pearl  Harbor,  Japan  was  de- 
feated and  lost  a lot  of  territory,  including  Korea  and  For- 
mosa. Today  the  total  area  of  the  Japanese  empire  is  nine 
per  cent  smaller  than  the  state  of  California.  Yet  jammed 
within  this  areas  is  a population  of  88,300,000,  over  half 
that  of  the  United  States. 

No  sooner  had  I disembarked  from  the  steamer  than  I 
ran  into  a situation  involving  taxi  drivers.  I asked  my 
taxi  driver  how  many  hours  a day  he  worked.  He  replied 
that  he  worked  24  hours  at  a stretch  and  on  national  holi- 
days, 48  hours.  Before  I got  through  with  this  investiga- 
tion I had  visited  both  the  Taxi  Drivers’  Union  and  the 
owners  of  the  taxi  companies.  I found  that  there  was  an 
eight-hour  law  but  that  it  was  not  being  enforced.  I dis- 
covered, also,  that  85  per  cent  of  the  motor  accidents  in 
Tokyo  involved  taxis.  As  a result,  I wrote  letters  to  the 
press  and  an  article  for  the  Japan  Christian  Quarterly 
pointing  out  the  dangers  in  the  situation. 

Japan  is  still  recovering  from  the  ravages  of  war.  About 
two  million  Japanese  died  as  a result  of  the  war,  sixty  per 
cent  of  whom  were  civilians.  A quarter  of  all  dwelling 
houses  and  shops  were  demolished  or  badly  damaged  by 
bombs.  Because  many  of  the  women  work  long  hours  un- 
der unsanitary  conditions  and  live  in  crowded  congestion, 
some  217,000  babies  are  stillborn.  Extreme  poverty  has 
led  to  some  650,000  cases  of  abortion  each  year. 


Christianity 

Back  in  1871  when  my  father  landed  in  Japan,  it  was 
death  to  be  a Christian.  His  interpreter  was  imprisoned 
because  he  translated  some  of  Father’s  tracts.  Today  Chris- 
tians in  Japan  have  complete  freedom.  Doshisha  Univer- 
sity, a Christian  college  which  my  father  helped  to  start 
with  18  students,  has  grown  to  an  enrollment  of  23,000. 
Still  Christianity  is  weak  in  Japan.  Only  one-half  of  one 
per  cent  of  the  people  are  Christians,  and  these  belong 
largely  to  the  intelligentsia  and  the  middle  class.  Of  the 
farmers,  who  make  up  about  half  the  Japanese  population, 
only  two  per  cent  are  Christians.  Of  the  laboring  class 
who  make  up  27  per  cent  of  the  population,  only  three 
per  cent  are  Christians.  As  a result,  the  trade  unions  and 
most  of  the  churches  are  separated  by  a big  gulf.  Only  a 
handful  of  all  the  churches  in  the  Kyodan,  which  embraces 
nearly  all  the  major  denominations  in  Japan,  have  an  aver- 
age attendance  of  120  at  their  Sunday  service. 

Both  Communism  and  Christianity  are  competing  for 
the  loyalty  of  the  Japanese  people.  My  feeling  was  that 
Communism  was  losing  ground  to  Christianity.  Never- 
theless, Christianity’s  greatest  weakness  in  Japan  is  its 
limited  social  concern.  The  emphasis  of  the  Christian 
Church  in  Japan  has  been  theological.  Of  course,  it  spon- 
sors social  service  work.  Orphan  asylums,  kindergartens, 
and  schools  abound.  But  most  of  the  churches  hesitate  to 
champion  the  cause  of  social  justice.  So  far,  they  have  not 
moved  to  eliminate  the  causes  of  social  evils. 

Recent  Gains 

The  defeat  of  Japan  and  its  unconditional  surrender  has 
brought  about  many  positive  gains.  The  dictatorship  of 
the  military  clique  was  ended,  and  the  myth  of  the  divine 
origin  of  the  Emperor  has  been  exploded  forever.  1 he 


6 


THE  OBERLIN  ALUMNI  MAGAZINE 


JEROME  DAVIS,  ’13,  who  was  born  in  Japan  of  mission- 
ary parents,  is  executive  director  of  Promoting  Enduring 
Peace,  Inc.  For  thirteen  years  he  held  the  Stark  Chair  of 
Practical  Philanthropy  at  Yale,  and  has  also  taught  at 
Boston  University,  Dartmouth,  Harvard,  and  Wisconsin. 
A world  observer,  he  returned  in  January  from  an  ex- 
tended tour  of  lecture  and  observation  in  Japan.  His  18th 
book,  Religion  in  Action,  is  just  off  the  press.  He  is  a 
trustee  of  Oberlin  College. 


schools  and  colleges  have  been  given  more  freedom  than 
ever  before.  Women  now  have  equality  under  the  law; 
there  are  more  women  in  the  Japanese  Diet  than  there  are 
in  our  Congress. 

Feudalism,  while  still  strong,  has  been  given  a severe 
jolt.  The  bonds  of  farm  tenantry  have  been  broken;  two 
million  renters  have  become  farm  owners.  The  trade  union 
movement  has  become  stronger.  There  is  more  political 
freedom  than  in  the  past.  More  social  legislation  has  be- 
come law.  Religious  freedom  is  a reality;  all  religious 
faiths  have  complete  freedom  to  work. 

The  new  Constitution,  written  largely  by  the  American 
occupation  forces,  renounces  war  and  rearmament.  It  de- 
clares: (Chapter  II.,  Renunciation  of  War)  "Aspiring  sin- 
cerely to  an  international  peace  based  on  justice  and  order, 
the  Japanese  people  forever  renounce  war  as  a sovereign 
right  of  the  nation  and  the  threat  or  use  of  force  as  means 
of  settling  disputes. 

"In  order  to  accomplish  the  aim  of  the  preceding  para- 
graph, land,  sea  and  air  forces,  as  well  as  other  war  poten- 
tial, will  never  be  maintained.  The  right  of  belligerency 
of  the  state  will  not  be  recognized." 

Today  the  United  States  is  trying  to  change  this  consti- 
tution, and  the  Japanese  people  do  not  want  it  changed. 
Rearmament  is  unpopular.  Japan  believes  that  mili- 
tarism does  not  pay,  especially  when  you  lose.  When  we 
wrote  disarmament  into  the  Japanese  Constitution  many 
Japanese  came  to  believe  that  democracy  meant  a peaceful 
and  constitutional  new  order.  Curiously,  the  democratic 


and  pro-American  part  of  the  Japanese  population  are  the 
very  ones  who  are  strongly  against  rearmament,  and  it  is 
the  anti-American  militarists  and  reactionary  forces  who 
support  it. 

Minor  Irritations 

A number  of  minor  irritations  have  disturbed  the 
Japanese  people,  and  created  some  distrust  of  the  United 
States.  One  is  the  activities  of  the  occupational  forces. 
A Japanese  publication  recently  charged  that  American 
soldiers  in  Japan  spend  two  million  dollars  on  prostitutes 
a year.  This  figure  is  probably  exaggerated,  but  it  reflects 
the  attitude  of  the  Japanese. 

Confiscation  of  land  by  the  United  States  occupation 
forces  is  another  sore  point.  In  Okinawa  the  United  States 
military  are  now  using  12.7  per  cent  of  the  island's  total 
area.  And  they  want  to  requisition  more  territory  up  to 
25.3  per  cent  of  the  entire  land  area.  Fifty  thousand  na- 
tive families  have  already  been  dispossessed.  Darley 
Downs,  a missionary  in  Tokyo,  and  father  of  one  of  the 
Oberlin-in-China  student  representatives  in  Japan,  testified 
before  a Congressional  Committee  against  the  requisition- 
ing of  this  land. 

The  United  States  also  seized  the  finest  park  in  all 
Okinawa,  a park  overlooking  the  entire  island,  which  had 
been  used  by  the  inhabitants  for  generations,  as  a site  for 
a radio  station  to  beam  the  Voice  of  America  to  Asia. 
Today  all  the  people  are  kept  out  of  the  park. 

Also,  the  Japanese  people  are  almost  unanimous  in 
opposing  United  States  atomic  and  hydrogen  tests  in  the 
Pacific.  Innocent  fishermen  died  as  a result  of  the  last 
test,  and  now  the  United  States  has  issued  official  warn- 
ing that  the  zone  to  be  cleared  for  the  new  tests  must  by 
375,000  nautical  square  miles  in  the  Pacific  Ocean.  I did 
not  talk  with  a single  Japanese,  from  members  of  the  Diet 
to  teachers  in  the  University,  who  did  not  oppose  this. 
When  I mentioned  that  Russia  had  made  bomb  tests  in 
Siberia  the  Japanese  retorted,  "Then  why  doesn't  the 
United  States  make  her  tests  in  Alaska?”  They  all  seemed 
to  feel  that  explosions  in  the  Pacific  were  in  violation  of 
international  law.  The  organizers  of  the  World  Confer- 
ence against  hydrogen  bombs  held  in  Hiroshima  last  Au- 
gust included  the  ex-Prime  Minister,  Katayama;  Dr. 
Yamada,  President  of  the  Academy  of  Science;  Mrs. 
Uemura,  President  of  the  Japanese  Y.  W.  C.  A.;  Professor 
Yukawa,  winner  of  the  Nobel  Prize  in  science,  and  many 
others  of  equal  standing.  This  shows  indubitably  the 
wide-spread  opposition  towards  this  United  States  policy. 

A Loss  in  Face 

The  result  of  all  this  is  that  the  United  States  has  been 
losing  face  in  Japan.  Professor  Edwin  A.  Reischauer,  '31, 
of  Harvard  University,  who  was  born  in  Japan,  declares  of 
United  States  policy  in  Asia,  "Our  net  score  in  the  field 
of  ideas  is  well  below  zero.”  He  says  we  present  our  case 
in  terms  that  seem  good  to  Americans  but  that  "seem 
diabolically  calculated  to  alienate  Asians  from  our  side.  No 
major  nation  in  recent  years,”  he  concludes,  "has  been  less 
successful  than  the  United  States  in  communicating  infor- 
mation or  ideas  to  peoples  beyond  its  borders.” 

Totalitarianism  vs.  Democracy 

A crucial  issue  in  Japan  is  the  choice  the  people  will 
make  between  totalitarianism  and  democracy.  From  my 
observations  I do  not  think  that  the  Japanese  will  choose 
Communism,  but  there  is  a danger,  if  we  force  through 

( Continued  on  page  11) 


FOR  MAY  1956 


7 


R.S.V.P 


The 

RIGHT 

To 

ASK 


Stofan 

"The  classroom  ...  is  in  the  final  analysis 
a place  of  inquiry  for  teacher  and  student." 


“There  are  no  limits  to  inquiry 

so  long  as  we  conform  to  the  conditions.  . . 


By  Paul  F.  Schmidt 


The  following  is  a senior  chapel  talk  given  April  19, 
1956,  by  Paul  F.  Schmidt,  assistant  professor  of  Philosophy. 

SENIORS,  INCUBATING  SENIORS  and  old  tough  sen- 
iors, I have  been  asked  the  following  question:  are 
there  any  topics  we  cannot  discuss,  are  there  any  claims  we 
cannot  inquire  into?  Many  persons  would  answer  yes.  I 
think  there  are  no  limits  on  what  we  can  inquire  into,  if 
we  want  to,  but  there  are  some  conditions  on  how  we  con- 
duct our  inquiry.  Those  who  hold  that  there  are  some 
topics  not  open  to  discussion  often  do  so  by  confusing 
how  we  conduct  the  inquiry  with  what  is  discussed.  If 
we  can  make  clear  the  conditions  relating  to  how  we  pro- 
ceed we  may  hope  that  some  persons  will  be  won  over  to 
our  position  of  complete  freedom  of  inquiry.  Of  course, 
there  will  probably  remain  some  who  will  never  allow 
such  wide  open  discussion.  Some  things  stand  beyond 
question  or  else  life  seems  impossible  to  them.  But  I am 
not  concerned  today  with  the  many  causes  of  dogmatism. 
What  we  can  hope  to  do  is  so  dearly  spell  out  the  condi- 
tions of  inquiry  that  they  will  lose  their  fears  and  see  the 
fruitfulness  to  men  and  life  of  our  attitude.  1 say  attitude 
because  even  though  we  may  legislate  in  a democracy  cer- 


8 


tain  freedoms  they  can  be  put  aside  by  men  who  wish  to 
practice  a contrary  attitude.  We  are  all  too  familiar  with 
this  situation. 

No  Question  Barred 

What  is  the  defense  for  the  thesis  'no  questions  barred'? 
Simply  this,  we  have  problems  and  we  desire  solutions. 
To  forbid  certain  questions  may  block  the  discovery  of 
solutions.  But  to  allow  questions  for  the  sake  of  solutions 
is  not  enough  for  this  is  compatible  with  two  different 
limitations  on  inquiry.  First  there  are  those  who  hold 
that  when  a solution  is  discovered  (or  sometimes  the  solu- 
tion) no  further  questions  need  be  allowed.  They  know 
and  further  question  can  only  be  sophistical  and  confus- 
ing. 

No  Final  Answers 

Those  who  suppose  that  they  possess  the  solution  are 
difficult  to  deal  with.  Even  though  we  can  present  cogent 
reasons  against  their  position,  these  have  little  effect,  tor 
their  state  of  mind  is  not  determined  by  evidential  con- 


THE  OBERLIN  ALUMNI  MAGAZINE 


siderations  but  by  psychological  or  sociological  factors.  Our 
theoretical  rejoinder  proceeds  by  constructing  a situation 
in  which  someone  denies  the  solution  they  claim.  To  be 
concrete,  the  usual  methods  employed  by  those  who  main- 
tain they  possess  the  answer  are  intuition,  self-evidence, 
revelation,  authority,  mystical  insight,  and  the  like.  Our 
criticism  proceeds  by  asserting  as  the  answer  the  contrary 
intuition,  revelation,  and  so  on.  We  now  have  two  claims, 
each  parading  as  the  answer.  One  of  them  must  be  wrong 
because  they  are  contrary  to  one  another  and  neither  side 
can  dislodge  the  other.  In  this  stalemate  we  no  longer 
have  a solution  to  our  question  but  two  solutions,  and 
hence  a new  problem:  who  is  on  the  right  track?  To  de- 
termine this  we  must  pursue  further  questions  to  resolve 
the  stalemate.  Hence  any  effort  to  stop  inquiry  by  claim- 
ing that  the  answer  is  known  fails. 

Our  theoretical  reply  is  supported  by  history.  If  we  ex- 
amine the  history  of  science,  of  philosophy,  and  of  religion, 
we  can  collect  a list  of  answers  and  contrary  answers;  and 
I do  not  know  of  any  single  answer  that  has  not  been  chal- 
lenged by  another  thinker.  So  my  theoretical  case  is  no 
misty  abstraction.  In  the  face  of  such  opposite  answers 
the  only  course  for  a person  seeking  a solution  by  eviden- 
tial considerations  is  further  inquiry. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  case  in  which  an  answer  to  a 
problem  is  in  hand,  but  it  is  not  claimed  to  be  the  answer. 
Why  must  we  allow  further  inquiry  if  we  have  a satisfac- 
tory answer?  First,  for  all  the  reasons  we  marshalled  in 
the  previous  case.  In  addition,  because  the  admission  that 
our  answer  is  not  ultimate,  leaves  open  the  discovery  of 
more  adequate  answers  and  these  will  only  be  found  by 
further  questioning. 

Specialized  Knowledge 

The  effort  to  limit  inquiry  by  claims  that  the  ultimate 
answer  is  known  belongs  mainly  to  past  ages.  In  our  own 
time  a far  more  dangerous  threat  to  inquiry  comes  from 
the  very  progress  of  knowledge.  This  progress  with  its 
highly  technical  and  detailed  content  has  brought  about 
specialization  and  professionalism.  How  many  times  have 
you  heard  comments  like  these:  'It’s  silly  for  you  to  raise 
questions  about  that  point;  it’s  a highly  technical  matter 
and  should  be  left  to  specialists;  or  don’t  you  think  you’re 
being  presumptuous  to  question  that  theory  when  it’s  dear- 
ly outside  your  profession?  You  haven’t  been  trained  in 
that  discipline.  You  should  stick  to  your  own  field  where 
you  know  what’s  going  on.’  I want  to  emphasize  that  there 
is  some  justification  for  these  comments  but  there  is  a 
far  greater  danger.  The  danger  is  that  we  limit  who 
should  ask  what  questions;  who  should  debate  what  is- 
sues; who  should  provide  reliable  answers.  I do  not  think 
that  people  who  make  such  comments  intend  to  limit  in- 
quiry. In  fact,  they  often  intend  to  safeguard  it  by  the 
rigorous  standards  of  the  profession.  That  is  why  it  is  so 
dangerous;  it  is  unconscious  and  unrecognized.  I catch 
myself  falling  into  this  trap  when  I hear  someone  in  an- 
other field  holding  forth  on  what  I consider  a philosophi- 
cal problem.  Let  me  describe  some  cases.  I am  in  a psy- 
chology class  and  the  discussion  turns  to  the  problem  of 
sense  data  and  perception  or  to  the  logic  of  scientific 
method.  Or  I hear  some  theologians  arguing  a metaphysi- 
cal issue;  or  mathematicians  on  the  nature  of  logical  in- 
ference; or  sociologists  on  ethical  values;  or  physicists  on 
the  meaning  of  causality,  and  so  on.  Unconsciously  my 
suspicions  rise.  I think  to  myself,  'This  is  a very  tricky 
point;  he  doesn’t  know  half  the  necessary  distinctions  to 
even  state  the  problems,  much  less  the  graveyard  of  slip- 
pery arguments  and  misleading  solutions;  why  doesn't  he 
leave  this  question  to  philosophers'?  Of  course  it  may  be 
that  these  are  not  philosophical  questions  and  I do  worry 
about  this.  But  the  point  is  that  such  suspicions  and  reflex 


attitudes  are  a dangerous  limit  on  inquiry  because  it  is 
just  such  new  perspectives  from  other  fields  and  novel  ap- 
proaches that  may  contribute  the  insight  to  further  our 
knowledge. 

Anyone  May  Question 

The  recent  death  of  Louis  Bromfield,  farmer  and  author, 
is  another  case  in  point.  Bromfield  in  a number  of  recent 
books  on  agriculture  has  proposed  theories  on  disease, 
agronomy,  and  agricultural  economics.  Result:  the  medi- 
cal profession  suspects  him  as  a quack;  the  agricultural  col- 
lege professors  dump  him  in  the  cult  of  'organic'  farmers; 
the  Department  of  Agriculture  in  Washington  'pans’  him 
for  not  knowing  over-all  statistics.  What  has  Bromfield 
done?  As  an  independent  thinker  he  has  advanced  solu- 
tions in  professions  outside  his  own.  Therefore  we  needn't 
pay  much  attention.  He  has  spoken  whereof  only  the  spe- 
cialist should  speak. 

Have  you  ever  heard  someone  remark,  'But  that’s  a mat- 
ter for  historians  to  decide;  or  theologians,  or  scientists’? 
Beware,  the  effect  of  this,  intended  or  not,  is  to  close  off 
inquiry  for  some  people.  We  see  the  danger  clearly  enough 
when  the  deciding  body  is  a dictator  or  astrologer,  but  we 
are  prone  to  it  in  our  professions  and  specialization. 

On  the  contrary  we  have  already  argued  that  no  one  can 
tell  what  answers  are  certain  or  likely;  and  now  we  see 
that  no  one  can  prescribe  who  is  going  to  discover  them. 
All  questions  are  legitimate  and  anyone  is  free  to  make 
proposals.  But  this  freedom,  like  all  freedom,  carries  a 
responsibility  with  respect  to  how  the  freedom  of  inquiry 
is  practiced.  What  are  these  conditions  of  inquiry? 

Tolerance 

The  first  is  tolerance.  Inquiry  without  limits  involves 
the  presentation  of  alternative  and  often  conflicting 
theories.  Tolerance  is  the  condition  that  all  theories  re- 
ceive an  unbiased  hearing;  that  each  be  considered  as  a 
genuine  possible  solution;  that  we  permit  and  encourage 
the  presentation  of  alternatives;  and  that  we  allow  these 
alternatives  to  be  tested.  Tolerance  is  not  just  a moral  im- 
perative 'you  ought  to  be  tolerant’  but  an  attitude;  that  is, 
a general  tendency  of  a person  to  act  in  a certain  way. 
This  point  is  important  because  many  people  believe  ’you 
ought  to  be  tolerant’  while  in  fact  their  action  belies  their 
belief.  Think  of  the  person  who  asserts  his  belief  in  racial 
tolerance,  then  finds  himself  personally  involved  in  such 
an  issue  and  acts  quite  the  contrary.  His  attitude  is  incon- 
sistent with  his  belief.  In  my  view,  the  more  important 
thing  is  his  attitude:  watch  how  he  acts  when  the  chips 
are  down. 

Another  way  to  bring  out  the  need  of  tolerance  takes 
this  course.  We  have  shown  that  no  answer  can  be  de- 
fended as  the  absolutely  certain  answer.  Hence  all  our 
answers  are  at  best  probable,  albeit  in  some  cases  so  highly 
probable  that  we  take  them  as  if  certain.  If  only  prob- 
able, then  alternative  answers  must  be  tolerated  in  order 
that  a critical  scrutiny  can  be  carried  on  to  find  the  more 
reliable  answer.  The  lack  of  certainty  implies  the  need 
for  tolerance  if  knowledge  is  our  goal.  It  is  worth  notice 
that  anyone  who  accepts  the  efficacy  of  scientific  modes 
of  investigation  is  committed  by  the  logic  of  these  methods 
to  probable  knowledge  and  tolerance.  I mention  this  be- 
cause some  scientists  outside  their  special  disciplines  do 
not  manifest  a genuine  experimental  attitude.  This  dis- 
tresses me  for  I think  modern  science,  natural,  social  and 
historical,  is  one  of  the  distinctive  features  of  our  times. 

Testability 

Closely  linked  with  tolerance  is  the  second  condition  of 


FOR  MAY  1956 

9 


inquiry,  testability.  If  the  presentation  of  diverse  answers 
is  not  to  issue  in  a chaos  of  claims  each  of  which  demands 
our  equal  tolerance,  then  we  must  have  some  means  of 
testing  among  them.  Continuing  inquiry  depends  upon 
the  presence  of  methods  of  testing  so  that  from  among  the 
diversity  a reliable  answer  can  be  selected.  Tolerance  with- 
out testability  would  issue  in  a relativity  of  answers  among 
which  no  reasonable  choice  is  possible  and  would  foster 
a skepticism  in  which  one  answer  is  literally  as  true  or 
good  as  any  other.  Without  testability,  the  selection  among 
alternative  answers  turns  upon  irrational  forces:  on  power; 
on  cunning;  on  authority;  and  on  numbers.  The  world  at 
all  times  is  full  of  examples  of  each.  You  select  your  fa- 
vorites. Some  people  believe  that  some  claims  cannot  be 
tested.  But  they  probably  have  in  mind  too  narrow  a view 
of  testing  such  as  mathematical  proof  or  laboratory  ex- 
perimentation. All  we  ask  is  for  the  presentation  of  the 
relevant  type  of  evidence  which  will  vary  with  the  subject 
and  problem.  Testing  is  the  critical  analysis  and  evalua- 
tion of  such  evidence  by  any  interested  person.  If  they 
give  no  evidence  for  their  claim,  we  need  give  none  to  re- 
fute them.  They  create  their  own  undoing. 

Objectivity 

In  order  for  testability  to  be  possible,  the  various  claims 
presented  must  satisfy  a third  condition:  objectivity.  A 
claim  is  objective  when  its  reference  (what  it  talks  about) 
is  open  to  public  scrutiny  by  trained  observers.  Objectivity 
makes  it  possible  in  principle  for  anyone  to  run  the  test  for 
or  against  some  claim.  Without  objectivity,  a person  might 
propound  an  answer  which  he  says  he  has  tested,  but  no 
one  else  can  test.  Such  private  insights  cannot  be  disproved 
since  no  one  else  can  test  them.  But  they  are  worthless 
as  reliable  knowledge  for  given  a contrary  private  insight 
inquiry  is  stopped  dead  in  its  track.  Needless  to  say,  such 
private  avenues  to  knowledge  are  a typical  last  resort  of  a 
theory  in  a 'bad  way.’  Keep  a wary  eye  on  the  man  who 
says  'I  have  tested  this  in  my  own  private  experience,  be- 
lieve me,’  unless  he  is  willing  to  spell  out  to  you  or  anyone 
else  how  the  test  can  be  repeated  in  your  experience.  De- 
stroy objectivity  and  you  murder  testability;  murder  testa- 
bility and  tolerance  produces  chaos.  You  say  you  don’t 
want  chaos  but  you  can’t  stand  all  this  objectivity  and 
testing.  Well,  then  you  have  authoritarianism,  subtle  or 
obnoxious,  more  or  less. 

The  conditions  mentioned  so  far  relate  to  the  process 
of  inquiry.  We  now  shift  our  attention  to  some  condi- 
tions relevant  to  the  people  who  carry  on  the  search  for 
knowledge. 

Honesty 

Our  insistence  on  public  testability  for  theories  requires 
that  those  who  perform  and  report  such  tests  do  so  with 
thorough  honesty.  For  to  cheat  in  the  process  of  experi- 
mentation cuts  out  knowledge  for  you  as  well  as  others.  It 
is  not  enough  that  our  claims  be  objective,  for  the  fruits 
of  such  objectivity  can  only  enter  the  fund  of  communi- 
cated human  knowledge  if  each  investigator  reports  just 
what  he  finds.  Honest  inquiry  by  each  observer  leads  to 
trust  in  the  reports  of  others. 

Humility 

Next,  we  notice  that  the  presentation  of  many  view- 
points, only  a few  of  which  will  pass  the  tests  for  reliable 
knowledge,  leads  to  the  consequence  that  our  own  insights 
are  likely  to  be  discarded,  initially  or  in  the  course  of  time. 
We  must  be  ready  to  abandon  in  the  face  of  evidence  our 
own  pet  theories.  Humility  is  the  readiness  to  sacrifice 
your  pet  theory.  I do  not  mean  by  humility  some  form  of 


self-abasement.  No,  it  is,  rather,  the  willingness  to  follow 
the  evidence  wherever  it  leads.  Such  humility  does  not 
preclude  clear  assertion  and  forceful  argument,  but  when 
the  evidence  is  clear,  we  accept  it. 

Respect  for  Others 

Finally,  if  other  people  are  as  likely  as  we  are  to  dis- 
cover a reliable  answer,  and  if  in  the  process  of  testing' we 
have  to  trust  the  honesty  of  other  observers,  then  we  need 
to  have  respect  for  other  individuals  as  equal  to  us  in  the 
process  of  inquiry.  This  completes  our  discussion  of  con- 
ditions relevant  to  persons  involved  in  inquiry:  honesty, 
trust,  humility,  and  respect  for  others. 

My  argument  is  now  complete.  I claimed  that  every 
topic  is  open  to  inquiry  and  discussion;  that  there  are  no 
limits  to  inquiry  so  long  as  we  conform  to  the  conditions 
of  inquiry.  The  occasional  disruptive  consequences  of  free 
inquiry  in  the  history  of  man  do  not  result  from  the  fact 
that  some  topics  are  not  to  be  inquired  into,  but  from  the 
violation  of  some  condition  of  inquiry.  For  instance:  in- 
tolerance of  persons  or  groups  has  led  to  death,  persecu- 
tion, segregation,  and  ostracism.  Tolerance  would  take 
the  sting  out  of  their  revolutionary  insights.  Lack  of  ob- 
jective testability  encourages  various  power  devices  to  back 
up  viewpoints.  If  a claim  is  objective  and  testable,  then 
we  have  civilized  means  to  settle  our  differing  insights. 
Dishonesty  destroys  the  kind  of  communication  required 
for  testability  and  further  breaks  the  trust  in  one  another 
that  seems  to  be  a basic  need  of  men.  Unwillingness  to 
follow  the  evidence  wherever  it  leads,  to  admit  that  one  is 
wrong  fosters  arrogance  and  authoritarian  activities  to 
cover  the  error.  Suspect  the  scholar  who  will  not  answer 
questions  but  lectures  firmly  to  the  end  and  marches  off 
without  discussion.  Of  course,  sometimes  he  has  another 
class.  Disrespect  of  others  casts  doubt  on  their  contribu- 
tions to  the  market  place  of  ideas  and  often  leads  to  treat- 
ing them  as  means  for  the  realization  of  what  someone 
else  thinks  is  true. 

Let  these  conditions  become  genuine  practice  (tolerance, 
testability,  respect  for  persons,  humility  before  evidence, 
and  honesty)  and  we  can  leave  inquiry  completely  free  for 
I cannot  see  any  undesirable  consequences  that  might  arise. 
Those  who  can  do  not  seek  knowledge;  the  sooner  we  fer- 
ret them  out,  the  better  off  mankind  will  be. 

The  Function  of  Education 

There  is  one  concrete  application  of  what  I have  been 
saying  that  is  especially  relevant  for  us.  In  searching  for 
an  adequate  description  of  the  nature  and  function  of  col- 
leges and  universities  I have  this  answer:  they  are  institu- 
tions whose  function  is  inquiry  and  their  various  structures 
are  alternative  efforts  to  perform  this  function.  The  va- 
rious components  can  be  judged  according  to  whether  or 
not  and  to  what  degree  they  promote  inquiry.  Teachers 
promote  inquiry  by  research,  by  discussion  among  them- 
selves and  with  students  in  seminars  and  classrooms.  The 
teaching  of  students  should  be  reconceived  as  a means  for 
student  inquiry.  The  same  measuring  rod  should  be  ap- 
plied to  students  and  teachers  for  there  is  no  sharp  divid- 
ing line.  Libraries  and  laboratories  are  means  to  inquiry 
and  judged  accordingly.  The  classroom  in  all  its  great  va- 
riety of  forms  is  in  the  final  analysis  a place  of  inquiry  for 
teacher  and  student.  Anything  else  is  a cheap  fake  and 
you  should  demand  your  tuition  back.  Further  conse- 
quences are  easily  discovered. 

By  this  standard,  Oberlin  rates  well  because  you  (I  don  t, 
even  know  who)  have  forced  me  to  give  up  some  of  my 
pet  theories  and  driven  me  on  to  find  new  solutions.  In- 
quiry is  alive  here. 


10 


THE  OBERLIN  ALUMNI  MAGAZINE 


Freedom’s  Challenge 

( Continued  from  page  5) 


tional  assistance,  technical  training  and  cultural  opportuni- 
ties   all  these,  while  they  may  not  show  immediate,  star- 

tling improvements,  are  of  great  long-range  importance. 

Programs  like  Point  Four  and  developmental  assistance, 
which  we  have  had  for  several  years,  are  now  growing  a 
bit  tired.  We  don't  need  totally  new  concepts,  but  we  do 
need  a 1956  model. 

We  must  make  clear  to  the  world  that  we  are  prepared 
to  continue  our  help  to  those  free  countries  ready  to  help 
themselves  for  as  long  as  is  necessary  for  them  to  achieve 
their  goal  of  economic  progress  within  the  framework  of 
freedom. 

A Development  Bank 

I believe  we  should  solicit  from  our  European  allies  an 
agreement  that  we  will  jointly  offer  the  underdeveloped 
areas  of  the  world  funds  to  create  a development  bank. 
This  bank  would  offer  low-interest,  long-term  loans  for 
development  projects.  The  offer  should  also  include  the 
opportunity  for  underdeveloped  areas  to  manage  this  bank 
with  the  advice,  if  desired,  of  more  technically  advanced 
western  nations  including  ourselves.  This  plan  would  have 
several  advantages: 

1 )  It  would  give  the  less  developed  areas  the  investment 
capital  necessary  to  move  ahead  in  meeting  people’s  legiti- 
mate "rising  levels  of  expectation.”  It  would  fill  the  need 
for  programs  combatting  illiteracy  and  disease  and  improv- 
ing living  conditions  — programs  which  private  invest- 
ment groups  cannot  undertake  but  which  are  urgently 


needed  where  communist  aggression  remains  a dire  pos- 
sibility. 

2)  It  would  give  underdeveloped  areas  a stake  in  our 
assistance,  since  they  would  be  responsible  for  administer- 
ing the  fund  and  determining  the  most  desirable  and  bene- 
ficial projects. 

3)  It  would  provide  for  a sharing  with  our  western  al- 
lies of  the  cost  of  maintaining  freedom. 

4)  It  would  not  be  a handout.  Repayment  of  a loan  by 
one  nation  would  make  possible  extension  of  a loan  to  an- 
other. 

In  my  view,  this  proposal  would  provide  a dramatic  new 
departure  in  the  policy  of  the  free  nations  to  offset  the 
economic  and  political  advances  being  made  by  the  Soviets. 
In  addition,  it  would  unequivocally  demonstrate  to  the 
great  uncommitted  areas  of  the  world  that  we  are  with 
them  in  the  battle  for  freedom  — to  stay  and  to  win. 

Harrison  A.  (Pete)  Williams,  ’41,  represents  the  6th 
Congressional  District  in  New  Jersey.  The  first  Democrat 
ever  to  be  elected  from  this  traditionally  "solid”  Republican 
district,  he  went  into  office  in  1953,  filling  out  the  imex- 
pired  term  of  Clifford  P.  Case.  Pie  was  reelected  last  fall 
with  a tremendous  plurality,  a tribute  to  his  personal  popu- 
larity. He  recently  joined  with  Phidias  Pollis  and  Michael 
Pappas  of  Elizabeth,  New  Jersey,  in  the  formation  of  a law 
partnership  to  be  known  as  Pollis  and  Williams. 

He  and  his  wife,  the  former  Nancy  McGlone  have  four 
children;  Peter,  Wendy,  Jonathan,  and  Nina. 


From  the  Rim  of  Asia 

(Continued  from  page  7) 


rearmament,  that  the  militarists  and  the  economic  royalists 
may  gain  control  and  secure  a dictatorship  again  in  this 
island  empire.  The  Japanese  people  have,  for  genera- 
tions, done  reverence  to  an  autocratic  emperor.  Even  now 
they  have  thought  control  laws  on  their  statute  books, 
though  these  are  not  being  enforced.  Individual  liberty 
for  all,  with  freedom  of  speech  and  freedom  of  assembly, 
is  a relatively  new  concept  in  Japan.  Will  America  help 
to  perpetuate  these  new  freedoms  or  will  we  become  so  ob- 
sessed with  rearming  Japan  that  we  will  unconsciously  aid 
dictatorship? 

Even  more  important  is  the  choice  of  the  Japanese  peo- 
ple between  Communism  and  Christianity.  Communism 
rejects  spiritual  values  and  places  reliance  on  dialectical 
materialism.  Christianity  believes  in  the  supremacy  of 
the  spiritual  and  moral  law.  Will  the  total  weight  of 
American  influence  hurt  or  promote  Christianity?  Some 
Japanese  feel  that  American  moving  pictures  shown  in 
Japan  are  so  damaging  to  the  cause  of  Christianity  as  to 
more  than  offset  the  combined  efforts  of  all  the  missionary 
activities. 

Tariff  Barriers 

America  has  not  been  as  understanding  as  she  might 
have  been  in  the  need  of  the  Japanese  for  trade,  fapan 
has  a yearly  food  shortage  of  25  per  cent.  She  must  make 


this  up  in  trade,  and  a natural  traffic  is  with  Red  China. 
Yet  the  United  States  has  not  been  sympathetic  to  trade 
with  Red  China.  When  I was  in  Hong  Kong  I could  not 
even  purchase  a five-cent  handkerchief  if  it  was  made  in 
China  and  take  it  back  to  the  United  States.  The  Japanese 
feel  our  restrictions  on  their  trade  with  China  and  our 
tariff  barriers  are  unrealistic  in  face  of  Japan’s  desperate 
economic  situation. 

Need  for  Help 

In  spite  of  the  negative  factors  I believe  that  Japan  will 
choose  democracy  and  Christianity  if  we  in  America  do 
all  in  our  power  to  strengthen  the  Christian  forces  there. 
I believe  that  we  should  send  more  technical  help  in  this 
field.  Why  can  not  the  missionary  movement  send  indus- 
trialists, textile  producers,  hydraulic  and  electrical  experts 
as  well  as  experts  in  the  field  of  the  cooperatives  and 
labor?  Truly  the  fields  are  white  unto  the  harvest  in  Japan 
but  the  laborers  are  few.  America  has  it  in  her  power  to 
win  all  Japan  for  democracy  if  we  do  our  part  adequately. 
There  are  no  harder  working  people  anywhere  in  the 
world  than  the  Japanese.  They  are  conscientious,  sincere 
and  generous  to  a fault.  Let  us  be  sure  that  all  we  do  in 
our  American  policy  is  in  harmony  with  the  teachings  of 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  This  is  the  only  road  to  the 
winning  of  Japan. 


FOR  MAY  1956 


11 


Modern 

Sculpture 


By  Chloe  Hamilton,  ’48 

Curator,  Allen  Art  Museum 


PRODIGAL  SON.  Auguste  Rodin,  1840-1917,  French. 


PHOTOS  BY  A.  E.  PRINCEHORN 


New  Additions  to  Art  Museum 


ONE  OF  THE  MORE  conspicuous 
gaps  in  the  collections  of  the 
Allen  Memorial  Art  Museum,  that  of 
19th  and  20th  century  sculpture,  is 
now  on  its  way  to  being  filled,  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of  R.  T.  Miller,  Jr.,  ’91. 
Five  pieces  of  sculpture  were  recently 
acquired  from  the  liquidation  sale  at 
the  Curt  Valentin  Gallery  in  New 
York  with  funds  provided  the  col- 
lege by  Mr.  Miller  for  purchase  of 
works  of  art.  Of  these  five  sculptures 
four  are  in  bronze:  Auguste  Rodin's 
Prodigal  Son,  Dancer  at  Rest  by  Edgar 
Degas,  Portrait  of  Fernande  by  Picasso, 
and  Charles  Despiau’s  portrait  bust, 
The  American  Woman.  The  fifth, 
Eve,  by  E.  L.  Kirchner  is  in  wood. 


Largest  and  earliest  of  the  five,  and 
a fitting  introduction  to  any  collection 
of  modern  sculpture,  is  the  Prodigal 
Son,  1889,  by  Rodin,  the  father  of 
modern  sculpture.  Rodin  chose  to 
represent  the  prodigal  at  the  moment 
of  his  return,  kneeling,  with  arms  and 
head  uplifted  in  a suppliant  pose.  Five 
casts  in  bronze  were  made.  The  Rodin 
Museum  in  Paris,  the  Tate  Gallery  in 
London,  and  the  Palace  of  the  Legion 
of  Honor  in  San  Francisco  each  possess 
a cast. 

In  contrast  to  the  smooth,  undulating 
surface  and  graceful  attitude  of  the 
Rodin,  the  painted  wood  figure  of  Eve, 
carved  by  E.  L.  Kirchner  in  1919,  is 
taut  in  pose  and  tense  in  mood.  Move- 
ment in  the  Kirchner,  unlike  the  out- 


ward-flowing rhythm  of  the  Rodin,  is 
held  in  check,  confined  to  the  narrow 
mass  of  the  block.  It  is  a piece  which 
seems  to  take  up  little  space  around 
it.  In  its  hunched  pose  and  sharp 
angular  forms  it  typifies  the  spirit  as 
well  as  the  technique  of  German  Ex- 
pressionist art  of  the  early  20th  cen- 
tury. 

The  Degas  Dancer  at  Rest,  executed 
between  1880  and  1895  (exact  dates 
of  Degas'  sculpture  are  rarely  known) 
is  an  intimate  study  in  bronze  of  a 
young  ballerina,  always  a favorite 
theme  of  the  artist,  hands  on  hips,  ap 
parently  at  a pause  in  her  lesson.  Very 
few  bronze  sculptures  exist  in  unique 
casts.  Oberlin’s  Degas  is  one  of  twenty- 


12 


THE  OBERLIN  ALUMNI  MAGAZINE 


L’AMERICAINE  (MME.  STONE).  Charles  Despiau,  1874- 
1946,  French. 


FERNANDE.  Pablo  Picasso,  1881-,  Spanish. 


DANCER  AT  REST,  HANDS  ON 

HIPS.  Edgar  Degas,  1834-1917, 
French.  (Above). 


EVE.  Ernst  Ludwig  Kirchner,  1880- 
1938,  German.  (Right). 


two  similar  casts  in  bronze  made  from 
Degas’  wax  models  by  the  founder 
Hebrard  in  Paris  in  1919-1921.  Degas 
himself  never  worked  directly  in  bronze. 

Although  Oberlin  College  is  fortu- 
nate in  owning  two  paintings  and  three 
drawings  by  Piccasso,  the  bronze  Por- 
trait of  Fernande  of  1905  is  the  first 
sculpture  by  this  master  to  be  acquired 
by  the  museum.  Fernande  appears 
often  as  a model  in  Picasso’s  early 
work.  This  portrait,  like  the  drawing 
in  our  collection,  Woman  with  a Fan,  of 
approximately  the  same  date  has  a 
quality  of  solemn  repose  often  found 
in  Picasso's  work  of  the  "Blue"  and 
"Rose”  periods.  On  one  side  of  the 
face  the  features  are  sharply  defined, 
while  on  the  other  they  are  left  incom- 
plete, only  roughly  blocked  out,  antici- 
pating the  reduction  of  forms  soon  to 
appear  in  his  early  cubist  paintings. 

Charles  Despiau,  one  of  France’s 
foremost  portrait  sculptors  during  the 
first  three  decades  of  this  century,  made 
the  bust  of  The  American  Woman , 
sometimes  identified  as  Mine.  Stone,  in 
1927.  Like  the  Rodin  it  is  one  of  five 
casts.  Two  others  are  located  in  the 
Boston  Museum  of  Fine  Arts  and  the 
Los  Angeles  County  Museum.  The 
Oberlin  example  is  characteristic  of 
Despiau’s  work  in  the  calm,  somewhat 
withdrawn  expression  of  the  sitter,  in 
the  delicate  relationship  of  the  parts 
and  the  fine  precision  in  the  modelling. 


FOR  MAY  1956 


13 


1 HROUGH  the  YEARS  with  O.  D.  A. 
The  Second  Decade 


This  is  the  second  installment  of 
the  history  of  plays  produced  by  the 
Oberlin  Dramatic  Association  in  its 
40-year  history.  Productions  of  the 
first  decade  appeared  in  the  March 
issue. 

THE  second  decade  of  its  existence 
saw  the  Oberlin  Dramatic  Associa- 
tion firmly  established  as  an  integral 
part  of  the  Oberlin  scene.  It  was  also  a 
period  of  change.  Professor  Philip  D. 
Sherman,  affectionately  known  as 
"P.  D.,”  who  had  become  the  guiding 
force  of  the  organization  and  director 
of  all  the  productions,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Professor  R.  Archibald  Jel- 
liffe.  Productions  were  still  ham- 
pered by  the  lack  of  an  adequate  stage, 
with  the  players  forced  to  use  make- 
shift arrangements  in  Sturges,  Warner 
Hall,  and  Finney  Chapel. 

IT  WAS  during  this  decade  that  the 
first  Shakespearean  play  was  pre- 
sented— As  You  Like  It,  the  Com- 
mencement play  for  1926.  One-act 
plays  continued  in  popularity,  and 
Shakespearean  plays  gradually  estab- 
lished themselves  as  favorite  for  Com- 
mencement performance.  This  dec- 
ade also  saw  the  first  appearance  of 
Professor  J.  Stanton  (Stan)  McLaugh- 
lin as  director.  In  1929  he  acted  as 
co-director  with  Professor  Jelliffe  of 
Twelfth  Night,  the  Commencement 
play  produced  on  June  13-14. 


1924- 1925 

When  Two’s  Not  Company  (Mary 
Louise  MacMillan),  Back  of  the  Yards 
(Kenneth  Sawyer  Goodman),  Thurs- 
day Evening  (Christopher  Morley), 
April  18;  Kindling  (Charles  Ken- 
yon), June  10,  11. 

1925- 1926 

The  Goose  Hangs  High  (Lewis 
Beach),  December  5;  The  House 
(George  Middleton),  Wisdom  Teeth 
(Rachel  Lyman  Field),  May  6;  Cin- 
derella Married,  with  the  Faculty 
Club,  (’47  Workshop  Repertory  of 
Harvard),  May  11;  As  You  Like  It 
(William  Shakespeare),  June  9,  10. 

1926- 1927 

Expressing  Willie  (Rachel  Croth- 
ers),  November  27;  The  Valiant 
( Holworthy  Hall  and  Robert  Middle- 
mass),  Wrong  Numbers  (Essex 
Dane),  A Pot  of  Broth  (William  But- 
ler Yeats),  May  17;  Nothing  But  the 
Truth  (James  Montgomery),  June  15, 
16. 

1927- 1928 

Dear  Brutas  (James  M.  Barrie), 
November  18,  19;  The  Knave  of 
Hearts  (Louise  Sanders),  Rehearsal 
(Christopher  Morley),  Shanghaied 
(Thomas  Conner),  November  25;  Six 
Who  Pass  While  the  Lentils  Boil 
(Stuart  Walker),  Their  Husbands 
(Alice  Gerstenberg) , The  Old  Lady 


Shows  Her  Medals  (James  M.  Barrie), 
December  16;  The  Dark  Lady  of  the 
Sonnets  (G.  B.  Shaw),  Tea  in  Hades 
(Thomas  Conner),  Poison,  Passion 
and  Petrifaction  (G.  B.  Shaw),  Feb- 
ruary 10,  17;  The  Importance  of  Be- 
ing Earnest  (Oscar  Wilde),  March  30, 
31;  lie  (Eugene  O'Neill),  Pierrot  in 
Paris  (Colin  Campbell  Clements), 
l he  Knife  (Henry  Arthur  Jones), 
Suppressed  Desires  (George  Cram 
Cook  and  Susan  Glaspell);  April  19, 
20;  The  Admirable  Crichton  (James 
M.  Barrie),  June  2. 

1928- 1929 

The  Ninth  Tower  (Thomas  Con- 
ner), November  30;  The  Long  Voy- 
age Home  (Eugene  O’Neill),  The 
Emeralds  (Oscar  W.  Firkins),  Decem- 
ber 1;  The  Woman  Hater  (Gotthold 
Lessing),  February  4,  5;  The  Queen’s 
Husband  (Robert  E.  Sherwood),  May 
18;  Twelfth  Night  (William  Shakes- 
peare), June  13,  14. 

1929- 1930 

Thank  You,  Doctor  (Gilbert  Em- 
ery), Jazz  and  Minuet  (Ruth  Giorl- 
off),  The  Joiners  (Arthur  M.  Hink- 
ley),  November  22,  23;  The  School 
for  Scandal  (Richard  Sheridan),  De- 
cember 13,  14;  A Night  Wind  (Wit- 
ter Binner),  Where  the  Cross  is  Made 
(Eugene  O'Neill),  The  Boor  (Anton 
Chekhov),  March  6,  8;  Trifles  (Susan 


iJH 

g Jj 

JKHwi 

TWELFTH  NIGHT  — On  May  26,  1929,  the  Commencement  Play  was  produced  at  the  Brookwalter  Farm,  Springfield, 
Ohio.  Members  of  the  cast  are  (left  to  right):  Alfred  Hubbard,  ’30,  Ned  Kenvvorthy,  ’31  (order  uncertain)  Elizabetn 
Curtiss,  ’30,  Stan  McLaughlin,  ’21,  Alfred  Churchill,  ’30,  Richard  Malone,  ’31,  Frances  Dean,  ’30,  Leontine  Pimsner,  at, 
Carl  Allensworth,  ’30,  Martha  Bowditch,  ’29,  Elizabeth  Mossman,  '29,  John  Louis,  ’29,  Irene  Harris,  '29. 


14 


THE  OBERLIN  ALUMNI  MAGAZINE 


Glaspell) , Rich  Man,  Poor  Man  (Ber- 
tha Y.  Burrill) , The  Neighbors  (Zona 
Gale),  April  11,  12;  Aren’t  We  All? 
(Frederick  Lonsdale),  May  3;  A Mid- 
summer Night’s  Dream  (William 
Shakespeare),  June  13,  14. 

1930- 1931 

English  I Required  (Thomas  Con- 
ner), Shanghaied  (Thomas  Conner), 
Tea  in  Hades  (Thomas  Conner),  De- 
cember 5,  6;  Let  Us  Be  Gay  (Rachel 
Crothers),  March  27,  28;  The  Ivory 
Door  (A. A.  Milne),  May  8,  9;  As 
You  Like  It  (William  Shakespeare), 
June  12,  13. 

1931- 1932 

The  Man  in  the  Stalls  (Alfred 
Sutro),  November  5;  The  Man  in  the 
Stalls  (Alfred  Sutro),  The  Game  of 
Chess  (Kenneth  Sawyer  Goodman), 
November  20,  21;  The  Perfect  Alibi 
(A.  A.  Milne),  January  15,  16;  The 
Cradle  Song  (Gregorio  Martinez- 
Sierra),  April  22,  23;  Love’s  Labour’s 
Lost  (William  Shakespeare),  June  17, 
18. 

1932- 1933 

Six  Characters  in  Search  of  an  Au- 
thor (Luigi  Pirandello),  December  2, 
3;  The  Light  in  the  Dust  (R.  Archi- 
bald Jelliffe),  April  19-22;  The  Mol- 
lusc (Hubert  H.  Davies),  May  10-13; 
The  Tempest  (William  Shakespeare), 
June  15-17. 

1933- 1934 

Berkeley  Square  (John  Balderston), 
January  19,  20;  Electra  (Sophocles), 
April  27,  28;  Joy  (John  Galsworthy), 
June  15,  16. 


The  Faculty  and 
Staff 


Blair  Stewart,  dean  of  the  College 
of  Arts  and  Sciences,  has  been  elected 
chairman  for  1956-57  of  the  commis- 
sion on  colleges  and  universities  of  the 
North  Central  Association  of  Colleges 
and  Secondary  Schools,  one  of  the  three 
major  commissions  of  the  organization. 
As  chairman  of  this  commission  Dean 
Stewart  is  also  chairman  of  the  Board 
of  Review  which  handles  accreditation. 

George  A.  Heise,  assistant  professor 
of  psychology,  is  resigning  at  the  end 
of  the  current  year  to  accept  a position 


in  the  Department  of  Pharmacological 
Research  of  Hoffman-La  Roche,  Inc., 
in  Nutley,  New  Jersey.  Professor 
Heise  will  do  research  on  the  behavioral 
effects  of  drugs.  During  the  summer 
he  will  teach  and  conduct  research  at 
the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Tech- 
nology. 

Professor  J.  Arthur  Campbell,  '38, 
of  the  department  of  chemistry  will  be 
absent  on  leave  for  the  school  year 
1956-57.  He  will  work  with  the  Na- 
tional Science  Foundation  as  program 
director  for  education  in  the  sciences. 
His  headquarters  will  be  in  Washing- 
ton, D.  C.  The  Foundation  is  con- 
cerned with  finding  and  fostering 
methods  of  insuring  a continuing  and 
increasing  supply  of  scientists  in  the 
United  States. 

Charles  P.  Parkhurst,  head  of  the  de- 
partment of  fine  arts  and  director  of 
the  Allen  Art  Museum  has  been 
awarded  a Fulbright  Grant  for  the 
academic  year  1956-57.  He  will  con- 
duct research  in  color  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  Utrecht  in  The  Netherlands. 
During  the  summer  of  1956  he  will 
travel  with  an  art  exhibition  in  Eu- 
rope for  the  United  States  Department 
of  State.  He  served  this  spring  on  the 
six-man  advisory  committee  that 
worked  with  the  Brooklyn  Museum  in 
setting  up  a fellowship  program  for 
training  future  museum  executives. 

Attend  Meetings 

David  Robertson,  director  of  the 
Conservatory,  Miss  Hilda  Magdsick, 
'30,  and  Wesley  Smith,  associate  pro- 
fessors of  music  education,  George 
Wain,  professor  of  woodwind  instru- 
ments, and  music  education,  Clifford 
Cook,  '30,  assistant  professor  of  stringed 
instruments,  and  Paul  Steg,  assistant 
to  the  director  of  the  Conservatory 
attended  the  Music  Educators  National 
Convention  in  St.  Louis,  April  13-18. 
Professor  Wain  was  chairman  of  the 
committee  devoted  to  small  ensemble 
performance  and  was  responsible  for 
the  sectional  meetings  devoted  to 
strings,  woodwinds,  brasswinds,  and 
percussion.  Professor  Cook  was  chair- 
man of  the  sectional  meetings  for 
stringed  instruments. 

Accompanying  the  faculty  members 
were  the  Oberlin  Orchestra  and  the 
Woodwind  Quintet.  The  Orchestra, 
under  the  direction  of  David  Robert- 
son, gave  two  concerts,  at  a general  ses- 
sion of  the  Conference,  and  at  a string 
session.  George  Wain’s  Woodwind 
Quintet  made  two  appearances,  at  the 
combined  North  Central  and  Western 
Conference  dinner  and  for  the  wood- 


wind sectional  meeting.  The  Orches- 
tra also  played  a concert  for  the  Ober- 
lin Alumni  Club  of  St.  Louis  on  Sunday, 
April  15,  at  the  Grace  Methodist 
Church,  Robert  McGill,  ’43,  organist 
and  choir  master  of  the  church  making 
the  arrangements. 

Over  10,000  music  educators  from 
the  United  States  and  seventeen  foreign 
countries  were  present  at  the  Con- 
vention. 

Attending  the  national  meetings  of 
the  American  Association  of  Health, 
Physical  Education,  and  Recreation  in 
Chicago  in  March  were  Lysle  K.  But- 
ler, ’25,  and  Miss  Betty  McCue,  heads 
of  the  department  of  physical  education 
for  men  and  women,  and  the  following 
staff  members:  Robert  Kretchmar, 

’40,  Cliff  Stevenson,  Janet  Wignall, 
Betty  M.  Wagner,  and  Barbara  Calmer. 
Dr.  J.  Herbert  Nichols,  ’ll,  emeritus 
head  of  the  department,  was  also  pres- 
ent. During  the  meetings  an  Oberlin 
Luncheon  was  held  at  the  Conrad- 
Hilton  Hotel,  Convention  headquar- 
ters, on  March  26,  a get-together  for 
Oberlin  graduates  present  at  the  Con- 
vention. Some  thirty-two  alumni, 
staff  members,  and  students  attended 
the  luncheon  which  proved  to  be  a 
great  success.  There  was  no  formal 
program,  giving  everyone  an  oppor- 
tunity to  visit  at  this  get-together  in  the 
midst  of  a very  busy  convention. 

Professor  emeritus  Clarence  H.  Ham- 
ilton will  serve  as  visiting  professor  at 
Wheaton  College,  Norton,  Massachu- 
setts, during  the  academic  year  1956-57 
teaching  two  full-year  courses:  "His- 
tory of  Religions”  and  "Philosophy 
and  Religion  in  Eastern  Asia.” 

Ben  Lewis,  chairman  of  the  depart- 
ment of  economics,  presented  a paper 
"The  Economist  in  Government”  at  the 
annual  meeting  of  the  Mid-West  Eco- 
nomics Association  in  Indianapolis  on 
April  20.  On  April  12-15  he  served 
as  economic  consultant  to  the  National 
Study  Conference  on  the  Church  and 
Economic  Life  called  by  the  National 
Council  of  Churches  in  Pittsburgh, 
Pennsylvania.  Earlier  in  April  he  ad- 
dressed a dinner  meeting  of  the  social 
science  section  of  the  Ohio  College 
Association  at  Marion,  Ohio,  and 
worked  with  the  Business-Education 
Program  Committee  of  the  Committee 
for  Economic  Development  in  New 
York  City.  During  spring  vacation  he 
visited  a number  of  cities  in  Alabama, 
interviewing  businessmen  and  indus- 
trialists in  his  capacity  as  consultant  to 
the  Business-Education  Committee  of 
the  Committee  for  Economic  Develop- 
ment. 


FOR  MAY  1956 


15 


So  Well  Remembered 


By  Nathaniel  R,  Howard,  x’19 


Elyria  Chronicle-Telegram 


pvEDICATION  DAYS,  April  14-15,  saw  College 
and  town  join  hands  to  celebrate  the  growth 
and  progress  of  the  Oberlin  community.  The  spe- 
cific occasion  was  the  completion  of  Barrows  and 
Dascomb  Halls,  new  dormitories;  an  enlarged  Al- 
len Hospital;  Eastwood  School,  new  elementary 
school  building  in  the  town;  and  the  re-naming  of 
Men's  Building  as  Wilder  Hall,  after  its  donor,  re- 
cently revealed  as  the  late  Herbert  A.  Wilder. 

At  a convocation  in  Hall  Auditorium  Nathaniel 
Howard,  editor  of  the  Cleveland  News  and  trustee 
of  the  College,  gave  the  dedication  address,  fol- 
lowing remarks  by  the  mayor  of  Oberlin,  Andrew 
Stofan,  the  principal  of  Eastwood  School,  Miss 
Elizabeth  Martin,  and  President  William  E.  Steven- 
son. A pageant,  with  Charley  Leistner,  assistant 
professor  of  speech  as  narrator,  dramatized  va- 
rious events  in  Oberlin's  history.  Hundreds  of  vis- 
itors inspected  the  new  buildings  at  the  open 
houses  held  on  both  days. 

Dr.  J.  Herbert  Nichols,  '1 1,  emeritus  head  of  the 
department  of  physical  education  for  men  and 
chairman  of  the  Allen  Hospital  Board,  was  chair- 
man of  the  committee  on  arrangements  and  mas- 
ter of  ceremonies. 


THIS  IS  A FINE  DAY  for  Oberlin, 
this  celebration  of  wonderful 
modern  buildings  and  facilities,  and 
of  a handsome  building  whose  donor 
has  been  disclosed  after  more  than  40 
years  of  his  gift’s  usefulness.  We  cele- 
brate the  generosity  of  many  persons 
today,  and  we  salute  the  great  college 
and  its  marvelous  community  for  hav- 
ing made  such  friends  and  supporters. 

Today  is  a far  different  day  in  the 
history  of  Oberlin,  if  perhaps  equal  in 


warm-heartedness,  from  that  day  in  the 
very  first  year  of  the  existence  of  the 
college  in  the  wilderness  when  the 
very  first  benefactions  came  from  the 
outside  world.  We  learn  from  Profes- 
sor Fletcher’s  history  of  the  college  that 
in  September,  1833,  Oberlin  received 
from  John  Tolman  of  Enosburgh,  Ver- 
mont, $50  worth  of  leather  goods  — 
"two  sides  of  small  upper  leather,  10 
pairs  of  thick  Brogans,  5 pairs  Women’s 
Bootees,  2 pairs  Calf  Skin  Boots”  — 


and  the  following  spring  received  from 
the  estate  of  James  K.  Shipherd  $62 
worth  of  books,  and  from  Harmon 
Kingsbury  of  Cleveland  2 Axes,  1 
horse  lame  in  one  foot,  1 Shovel.  I 
Pitchfolk,  1 Hoe,  1 Neck  yoke  for 
wagon  harness,  1 Joiners  plane,  1 
Water  pail,  1 Half  bushel,  and  9 Other 
Articles  which  may  be  of  some  value 
to  your  establishment." 

I expect  the  college  in  the  wilderness 
may  have  had  a gathering  something 


16 


THE  OBERLIN  ALUMNI  MAGAZINE 


BARROWS  HALL,  housing  197  men, 
has  been  occupied  since  March  10. 
Located  on  Woodland  Avenue,  south 
of  Noah  Hall,  it  is  a three-story,  red 
brick  structure  built  at  a total  cost  of 
$518,800.  Special  facilities  include 
ten  study  lounges,  kitchenette,  laun- 
dry and  pressing  rooms  with  auto- 
matic washer  and  dryer,  built  in 
wardrobes  and  bookcases. 


like  this  one  to  rejoice  that  the  fame  of 
the  new  college  had  attracted  friends 
in  the  outside  world.  . . . 

This  is  not  only  a fine  day  for  Ober- 
lin,  but  a great  day  for  your  speaker, 
who  is  proud  of  the  invitation  to  sound 
the  keynote  at  this  all-Oberlin  occasion. 
You  have  before  you  a "town  boy”  who 
was  nurtured  not  merely  by  this  college 
but  sheltered  and  taught  and  above  all 
encouraged  by  this  community,  the  like 
of  which  does  not  exist  in  many  other 
places  in  America.  For  all  its  nobility, 
the  college  of  Oberlin  would  be  some- 
thing more  sterile  without  its  town  and 
colony  of  Oberlin  — - just  as  the  town, 
without  its  great  college,  would  sink 
back  into  the  undistinguished  and 
much  less  intellectual  average  of  mid- 
western  American  towns. 

T BEG  A PERSONAL  PRIVILEGE  of 
JL  this  assembly,  that  you  let  me  show 
you  in  however  a rambling  and  senti- 
mental way  how  a youth  from  this 
town  and  this  college  can  have  for 
nearly  40  years  a constant  and  support- 
ting  pride  that  he  came  from  here,  that 
this  was  his  native  heath.  The  account 
is  a modest  story,  but  maybe  it  brings 
to  light  for  Oberlin  people  what  is 
distinctive,  what  is  superior  about  this 
native  heath.  My  brother  and  I were 
brought  here  as  half-grown  boys  by  our 
mother,  who  found  opportunity  to 
teach  in  Oberlin  High  School  at  a time 
when  both  boys  were  preparing  for  col- 
lege. She  was  allured  by  the  reputa- 
tion of  both  college  and  town  for  be- 
ing Christian  and  God-fearing  places, 
but  it  was  attractive  to  her  not  merely 
on  moral  and  spiritual  grounds,  but  as  a 
community  where  informed  and  edu- 
cated people  lived  and  created  an  at- 
mosphere of  intellectual  interest  far 


DASCOMB  HALL,  newest  dormitory 
for  women,  will  house  190  women.  It 
has  dining  facilities  for  400,  adapta- 
ble to  cafeteria  or  family  style  meals. 
Erected  on  the  site  of  old  Dascomb 
Cottage  on  West  College  Street  at  an 
over-all  cost  of  $714,500,  it  will  be 
ready  for  occupancy  some  time  this 
spring.  It  has  built-in  wardrobes 
and  bookcases,  kitchenettes  on  each 
floor,  three  laundry  and  pressing 
rooms  equipped  with  washer  and 
dryer,  two  typing  rooms. 


A.  E.  Princehorn 


OBERLIN’S  best-kept  secret  for 
nearly  half  a century  was  revealed 
with  the  announcement  that  Herbert 
A.  Wilder,  Boston  business  man  and 
philanthropist,  was  the  anonymous 
donor  of  the  Men’s  Building.  At- 
tracted by  the  academic  standing  of 
the  college,  its  conservative  religious 
teaching,  and  the  personality  and 
leadership  of  Henry  Churchill  King, 
then  president,  Herbert  Wilder,  quite 
without  soliciation,  got  in  touch  with 
President  King,  offering  financial  aid. 
His  one  condition  was  that  his  be- 
quests remain  anonymous.  Over  the 
years  those  gifts  totaled  $370,000;  cost 
of  the  Men’s  Building  was  $160,000. 
In  addition,  at  his  death  in  1923,  it 
was  discovered  that  Oberlin  College 
was  a participant  in  his  residuary 
estate.  The  amount  of  that  final  gift 
is  not  yet  known.  Now  that  restric- 
tions on  anonymity  have  been  re- 
moved, the  Men’s  Building  will  here- 
after bear  the  name  Wilder  Hall, 
which  name  has  already  been  carved 
over  the  entrance  of  the  building  he 
so  generously  donated. 


A.  E.  Princehorn 


FOR  MAY  1956 


17 


above  the  run  of  the  Ohio  industrial 
towns  or  the  farm-supported  county 
seats.  I remember  that  it  seemed  as 
important  to  her  that  there  was  good 
music  here  as  that  there  were  churches 
and  preachers  of  vital  Protestant  influ- 
ence. After  having  lived  in  three  cities 
and  two  small  towns,  she  was  rewarded 
here  in  Oberlin  with  a level  of  cam- 
panionship  of  mind  and  intelligence 
for  which  she,  a truly  intelligent  wom- 
an, had  been  searching  all  her  adult 
life.  And  whatever  else  I shall  think 
of  Oberlin  on  my  deathbed,  it  will  re- 
main the  place  where  Mother,  an  im- 
poverished widowed  teacher,  found  her 
happiest  years.  And  why  not?  It  was 
not  merely  that  the  college  stood  to 
offer  poor  boys  the  approximate  equal 
of  any  liberal  arts  instruction  in  the 
land;  it  was  that  the  whole  community 
was  dedicated  to  the  importance  of 
Christian  cultural  education,  as  con- 
trasted to  localities  devoted  to  material 
gain  or  to  the  fleshpots  or  to  idle  re- 
sort recreation.  And  further  that  it  was 
a singular  community,  where  nearly 
every  grown  citizen,  in  an  aura  of 
friendliness  and  respectability,  was 
willing  to  help  stand  guardian  and  pro- 
tector to  the  age,  size,  and  kind  of  boys 
Mother  had  on  her  hands.  What  more 
or  what  better  could  she  have  found 
anywhere  in  the  United  States  for  a 
person  of  her  circumstances  and  mis- 
sion in  life? 

T REMEMBER  SO  WELL,  also,  that 
1.  as  an  adolescent  I marveled  at  times 
at  the  friendliness  of  everyone  in 
Oberlin,  before  I came  to  college  age. 
The  high  school  was  a distinguished 
one  for  its  time,  as  new  and  ardent  in 
its  teachers  and  teachings  as  it  was  then 
old  of  building.  Its  pupils  came  by 
preference  from  all  over  Lorain  County, 
and  we  looked  down  on  all  the  larger 
high  schools  hereabout  as  knowing 
nothing  of  our  superior  teachers  and 
standards  of  lessons.  There  was  never 
a superintendent  who  was  friendlier 
and  happier  with  all  teachers  and  pupils 
than  Howard  Rawdon,  and  even  high 
school  students  looked  forward  to  a 
pleasant,  stimulating  word  from  him, 
for  he  always  seemed  so  interested  in 
us.  He  always  knew  the  score.  But 
he  was  no  friendlier  than  the  other 
grownups  about  us,  who  never  seemed 
too  busy  to  stop,  talk,  and  inquire  into 
our  juvenile  affairs  and  give  us  that 
marvelous  feeling  that  the  entire  town 
existed  for  our  activities  and  our  good 
growth  into  manhood.  My  greatest 
personal  debt  was  to  Carl  and  Bert 
Kinney,  whose  patience  with  eager, 
aggravating  boys  was  very  great.  They 
produced  a lot  of  journalists  in  their 
newspapering  and  printing  years  here 
simply  by  adopting  any  boy  who  was 


fond  of  type  and  the  printed  word, 
and  none  of  their  boys  every  forgot 
them.  I know  I learned  patience,  and 
understanding  with  people  as  much 
from  Carl  Kinney’s  example  as  from 
any  one.  But  all  the  grown-ups  of  that 
day  were  fond  of  the  boys  and  girls  in 
Oberlin,  and  always  found  time  to  help 
and  to  interest  them.  I and  the  others 
owed  many  people  for  their  attention 
and  good  will  to  us  — Frank  Tobin, 
A.  G.  Comings,  Irving  Channon,  Ira 
Porter,  Miles  Watson,  C.  R.  Graham, 
J T.  Henderson  and  George  Close, 
Mort  Houghton,  August  Straus  and 
Will  Carruthers,  Earl  Morris,  the  White 
Brothers,  Phil  Ohly,  Wilbur  Phillips, 
A.  M.  Loveland,  A.  Z.  Tillotson,  Louis 
Burgner,  the  Gibsons,  Otis  McKee, 
Ernest  Yocom,  and  the  doctors  of  the 


town,  and  the  ministers  of  the  town. 
In  little  and  big  quiet  ways,  they  did  a 
considerable  lot  of  philanthropy  for  the 
hard-pressed  college  students  and  some 
of  us  town  youngsters  . . . 

T HAVE  MENTIONED  NONE  of 
J.  the  college  community  of  this  day, 
not  because  these  were  not  equally  gen- 
erous and  influential  with  us,  but  to 
highlight  my  opinion  that  the  towns- 
people of  Oberlin  were  then,  as  before, 
as  they  must  be  now,  an  extraordinary 
class  of  people  in  many  ways  more  re- 
fined and  of  greater  virtues  than  the 
same  class  in  other  similar  towns.  In 
what  other  town  would  you  have  en- 
countered a George  Wood,  who  turned 
his  means,  energies,  and  home  over  to 
the  program  of  teaching  open  air  sport, 


“MY  greatest  personal  debt  was  to  Carl  [left,  with  granddaughter,  Stephanie 
Chase]  and  Bert  Kinney,  whose  patience  with  eager,  aggravating  boys  was 
very  great.” 


“WONDER  what  she  was  like?”  Janet  Bear,  ’59  (left)  and  Sarah  Dubsky,  '58, 
seem  to  be  thinking  as  they  contemplate  the  portrait  of  Oberlin’s  first  dean  of 
women  as  it  hangs  in  the  new  dormitory  named  in  her  honor. 

Stofan 


18 


THE  OBERLIN  ALUMNI  MAGAZINE 


team  play,  and  good  sportsmanship  to 
the  small  boys  of  Oberlin?  One  George 
Wood  would  be  worth  a million  dol- 
lars to  any  American  town  and  would 
save  twice  that  amount  in  protection 
over  the  years  against  juvenile  delin- 
quency. What  I am  trying  to  say  is  that 
it  was  not  merely  a sweet  community 
endowed  to  clean  and  wholesome  liv- 
ing, but  a town  which  had  unusual  and 
talented  citizens  who  had  turned  away 
from  greater  rewards  and  careers  else- 
where because  they,  too,  liked  this  na- 
tive heath  and  felt  its  individuality. 

THE  COLLEGE  WAS  THE  reason 
for  the  town’s  existence;  and  the 
character  of  the  college,  in  each  differ- 
ence in  nature  and  function  from  other 
colleges,  was  mostly  the  reason  for  the 


town’s  character.  I must  be  one  of 
many  who  still  believe  devoutly  in  the 
superiority  of  both  rhe  College  and  the 
town  because  of  these  differences, 
though,  like  all  of  us,  both  College  and 
town  live  in  a very  much  changed 
world  today  from  the  peaceful  and  less 
realistic  and  less  alarmed  world  of  1914 
and  1915.  To  begin  with,  both  College 
and  town  are  much  bigger  and  more 
handsome,  with  streamlined  facilities 
and  modern  services  and  comforts 
which  would  have  seemed  very  plush 
to  us  in  1914  . . . No  one  then  had  a 
conception  of  the  kind  of  new  public 
school  which  we  celebrate  here  today, 
just  as  no  college  student  then  would 
ever  have  expected  to  see  the  magnifi- 
cent dormitories  which  today  we  cele- 
brate ...  In  a day  when  the  old  Ober- 


lin hotel  was  grandeur  and  comfort 
enough,  nobody,  simply  nobody,  could 
have  envisioned  the  air-controlled  and 
streamlined  inn  which  crowns  the  com- 
munity to  its  great  benefit.  Parking 
lots  were  unnecessary  in  1916,  many 
present  college  courses  of  today  were 
beyond  the  imagination  of  then,  and 
a student  could  board  as  inexpensively 
as  $2.75  a week.  An  inflation  of  every 
sort  has  overtaken  Oberlin  along  with 
the  rest  of  the  world  within  the  40 
years  of  which  I speak  . . . We  have  had 
an  inflation  of  the  imagination  and  its 
powers,  and  a powerful  trend  away 
from  what  surely  every  one  in  Ober- 
lin regarded  40  years  ago  as  a safe 
status  quo  of  eternal  truths. 

TO  TELL  THE  TRUTH,  we  of  our 
generation  have  had  far  more 
stretching  of  our  realizations  and  far 
more  revising  of  what  we  believed 
would  never  much  change  than  either 
the  generations  of  our  fathers  or  our 
grandfathers.  It  was  not  that  we  did 
not  expect  Oberlin  continually  to 
change  for  the  better  — we  did  not 
understand  that  the  changes  would  be 
faster  and  more  radical.  It  wasn’t  that 
we  pinned  our  faiths  in  college  and 
community  to  moral  and  spiritual  pref- 
erences that  have  changed,  for  these  do 
not  in  our  society  and  our  religion;  but 
it  has  been  the  case  that  we  may  have 
been  slow  to  comprehend  that  moral 
principles  may  show  up  in  more  ways 
and  more  uniforms  than  we  ever  sus- 
pected they  might  . . . 

WE  WERE  NOT  ALONE,  40 
years  ago,  among  loyal  Ameri- 
can citizens  who  expected  the  best  of 
American  civilization  and  estimated  the 
future  in  too  little  an  estimate.  It  is 
almost  as  if  we  did  not  know  how  great 
our  College  and  town  were  bound  to 
become.  Ours  was  the  mistake  of  not 
thinking  in  large  enough  terms.  The 
eminence  of  Oberlin  College  40  years 
ago  was  marked  among  the  colleges  of 
the  land;  the  eminence  of  Oberlin  to- 
day is  vastly  more  impressive  and  the 
Oberlin  community  can  afford  to  live 
up  to  this  eminence  in  higher  and  faster 
values  and  pride  because,  praise  God, 
the  old  principles  of  Christian  education 
and  the  necessity  for  God-fearing  re- 
spect for  good  against  evil  are  just  as 
clear  in  Oberlin's  charter  today,  and 
are  far  more  impelling  to  rhe  world 
in  which  we  live. 

WHEN  THE  COLLEGE  developed 
Allen  Memorial  Hospital,  it 
was  again  a locally  extraordinary  thing 
because  so  few  towns  this  size  had  any 
hospital  at  all  . . . But  does  the  town 
fully  realize  that  in  today’s  world  of 
(Continued  on  page  30) 


“ONE  George  Wood  would  be  worth  a million  dollars  to  any  American  town 
and  would  save  twice  that  amount  in  protection  over  the  years  in  juvenile 
delinquency.”  The  boy  is  Ted  Princehorn. 


ADMIRING  the  plaque  honoring  John  Henry  Barrows,  fifth  president  of  Ober- 
lin, is  his  grandson  John  Barrows  Irwin  and  his  wife.  Mr.  Irwin  is  professor 
of  astronomy  at  the  University  of  Indiana. 

Stofan 


for  may  1956 


19 


Around  and  About  the  Campus 

with  Wayne  FOOTE,  ’56 


LAST  WEEK  was  a weekend  for 
dedications,  with  four  new  struc- 
tures for  the  town  and  college  com- 
pleted, and  a freshly  chiseled  frontis- 
piece for  the  former  Men’s  Building. 
This  weekend  I ventured  out  to  see 
what  had  been  going  on. 

In  a glassed-in  office  at  one  end  of 
the  kitchen  of  the  new  women’s  dormi- 
tory I found  Mr.  Harry  Anderson,  vice- 
president  of  Saga  Food  Service,  which 
is  now  operating  the  huge  dining  hall 
and  will  be  serving  the  whole  campus 
next  fall. 

"This  is  the  most  modern  and  best 
equipped  kitchen  of  all  the  nine  college 
dining  systems  we  are  operating,"  he 
said,  showing  me  some  of  the  new 
apparatus  which  was  being  cleaned  up 
for  the  opening  meal.  "Perhaps  now 
we  can  treat  the  students  to  a little  more 
gracious  living.” 

He  showed  me  a twenty-foot  auto- 
matic dishwashing  machine  which 
passes  trays  of  dishes  through  two 
washing  sections  and  a rinsing  com- 
partment out  onto  a long  drying  rack. 
The  last  rinse  contains  a wetting  agent, 
he  explained,  which  makes  the  water 
drain  off  quickly  without  leaving 
streaks  or  drops  on  the  glasses  or  sil- 
verware. 

There  are  walk-in  coolers  for  milk, 
meat,  vegetables  and  frozen  foods,  rows 
of  stack  ovens,  roasting  ovens,  and 
stoves.  There  are  also  a couple  of 
mammoth  double  boilers  which  look 
like  kettles,  with  their  lower  parts  in- 
cased in  a steam  jacket.  One  of  them 
has  a lip  on  one  edge,  and  can  be  tilted 
by  turning  a wheel.  The  other  "steam 
kettle”  is  emptied  by  a spigot  at  the 
bottom. 

On  the  side  of  the  kitchen  nearest 
the  dining  hall  are  two  long  cafeteria 
counters  capable  of  handling  over  a 
thousand  students  an  hour.  This  sec- 
tion is  equipped  with  warmers  for  hot 
plates,  pass-through  refrigerators,  ro- 
tary toasters,  two  40-gallon  milk  dis- 
pensers, and  an  ice-cube  machine. 

I ventured  into  the  dining  hall.  The 
yellow-green  walls  are  broken  only  by 
the  folded  dark-green  partitions  which 
can  divide  the  hall  into  three  large 
dining  rooms  and  a smaller  one.  As  I 
looked  at  the  rows  of  shiny,  light- 
topped  round  tables  with  matching, 
functional  chairs,  I wondered  whether 
the  presence  of  300  active,  hungry 
people  would  enliven  its  sterile  appear- 
ance. 

"It  may  take  a little  time  for  stu- 
dents who  have  been  eating  in  the 


smaller,  older  dining  halls  to  get  used 
to  the  new  set-up,"  said  Mr.  Anderson. 
"We  consider  it  part  of  our  job  to 
help  them  get  to  like  it.” 

I wondered  whether  I would  want  to 
learn  to  live  this  way. 

AFTER  OUR  introduction  to  a 
modern  kitchen  I decided  to  pay 
a visit  to  Mrs.  Carrie  Smith,  former 
cook  and  head  cook  at  the  Oberlin  Inn 
for  seventeen  years,  and  a cook  for  the 
College  for  another  seven.  I had 
known  her  as  the  plump,  smiling  cook 
at  Grey  Gables,  Co-op,  before  she  had 
been  forced  to  retire  last  year  because 
of  a heart  attack. 

When  she  came  to  the  door  1 didn’t 
recognize  her. 

"I  lost  over  a hundred  pounds  while 
I was  sick,"  she  said. 

I told  her  about  the  Dascomb  kitch- 
en. "I’m  afraid  I’m  getting  too  old  to 
learn  all  over  again,”  she  said.  "The 
kitchens  I've  always  worked  in  have 
been  old-fashioned,  and  I’ve  usually 
had  to  improvise  with  what  was  at 


hand.  I’d  be  lost  in  the  new  kitchen." 

Mrs.  Carrie  Warner  Smith  has  lived 
in  Oberlin  since  she  was  twenty,  cook- 
ing for  Oberlin  people  in  one  way  or 
another.  Her  father  was  a slave  who 
escaped  and  ran  away  to  live  with  the 
Indians  when  he  was  a boy.  He  be- 
came a blacksmith  for  the  Union  cav- 
alry stationed  at  the  Mennonite  Chey- 
enne Mission  in  Cantonment,  Okla- 
homa. Carrie's  mother  was  a pure- 
bred Arapahoe.  Her  father  died  when 
she  was  18  months. 

Although  many  of  the  missionaries 
would  have  liked  her  to  go  to  North- 
field,  Carrie  decided  her  best  choice 
was  to  attend  a Negro  college,  and  so 
she  went  to  Hampton  for  four  years. 

As  many  of  the  missionaries  of  her 
acquaintance  had  lived  in  Oberlin, 
Carrie  eventually  came  here.  She 
started  off  doing  party  work  for  people 
in  the  town.  Then  she  started  cooking 
at  the  Oberlin  Inn,  and  soon  became 
head  cook,  working  under  the  Rawdons 
and  later  under  Mrs.  Ruggles.  She  was 
afterward,  made  head  cook  at  French 
House  and  stayed  through  three  direc- 
torships. Later,  she  became  cook  for 
Grey  Gables,  serving  as  first  cook,  with 
the  students  themselves  as  her  assis- 
tants. 


20 


THE  OBERLIN  ALUMNI  MAGAZINE 


LOS  ANGELES  — A real  Southern 
California  Chamber  of  Commerce  day 
added  to  the  unique  San  Fernando 
Valley  ranch  home  of  Edward  Everett 
Horton,  x'07,  as  the  setting  for  a sig- 
nificant annual  meeting  Sunday  after- 
noon, February  26,  of  the  Oberlin  As- 
sociation of  Los  Angeles.  Over  200 
alumni  and  guests  attended  to  make 
it  the  largest  gathering  of  Oberlin 
folks  in  the  thirty  year  tradition  of 
the  Los  Angeles  Washington's  Birth- 
day "big”  meeting.  As  usual,  the 
group  included  many  members  from 
the  outlying  centers  of  the  California 
Southland,  proving  once  again  that 
Alma  Mater  leaves  a happy  impression 
that  her  sons  and  daughters  like  to 
recall.  . . . 

The  event  provided  ample  time  for 
members  to  meet  old  friends,  make 
new  friends,  and  to  enjoy  several  pro- 
gram highlights. 

Most  reminiscent  of  college  days 
was  the  showing  of  a recent  set  of 
beautiful  transparencies  produced  by 
college  photographer  A.  E.  (Pinky) 
Princehorn,  projected  by  Kay  McCol- 
lough  Grant,  '32,  with  commentary  by 
Fritz  Harshbarger,  '52,  who  added  a 
fourth  dimension  to  each  picture  by 
means  of  clever  and  personal  remarks 
directed  to  the  point  of  view  of  one 
who  might  anticipate  enrolling  at 
Oberlin. 

Vernon  Robinson,  '25,  had  plenty 
of  cooperation  in  leading  a song  ses- 
sion which  included  the  old  favorites 
Ten  Thousand  Strong,  Alma  Mater, 
Strolling,  and  Oberlin  My  Oberlin. 
Ruth  Mount,  T4,  headed  a committee 
assisting  the  hostess,  Hannabelle  Hor- 
ton Grant,  T3,  in  greeting  and  intro- 
ducing members.  Feme  Tudehope’s, 
'17,  committee  served  a delicious  tea 
in  a most  charming  fashion. 

. . . An  account  of  the  recent  Los 
Angeles  Annual  Meeting  would  not 
be  complete  without  special  mention 
of  the  hospitality  of  the  Horton  fam- 
ily who  have  opened  their  home  on 
many  occasions  for  similar  events.  In 
fact,  a heading  in  one  of  the  spring 
issues  of  the  Oberlin  Alumni  Maga- 
zine of  1930  uses  these  same  words: 
"Enjoy  Horton  Hospitality."  The 
article  continues  ".  . . 125  loyal  Ober- 
linites  gathered  there  for  a one  o’clock 
pot  luck  luncheon  which  pierced  the 
gloom  of  a rainy  day.  . . . Mrs.  E.  E. 
Horton,  an  Oberlin  mother  indeed, 
told  of  the  days  when  she  first  moved 
to  Oberlin,  with  the  primary  thought 
of  giving  her  children  the  best  avail- 
able environment  and  opportunities 
for  educational  and  musical  advan- 
tages. . . On  that  Washington's 
Birthday  meeting  Mrs.  Horton  was 
then  80  years  old  and  the  mother  of 
four  illustrious  Oberlin  graduates.  On 
this  1956  counterpart  she  was  96,  and 


Alumni  Clubs 


as  charming  as  ever.  The  Association 
presented  her  with  a corsage  as  a 
small  token  of  her  enduring  and  de- 
voted interest  in  Oberlin. 

New  officers  of  the  Club  are: 
President:  Laurence  N.  White,  "33; 
Vice-President:  Mrs.  Harry  Fong 

( Emilie  Chan,  x’46 ) ; Secretary:  Mrs. 
Donald  A.  Nielsen  (Kathryn  Robin- 
son, "39);  Treasurer:  Gordon  B.  Mc- 
Rae, ’31. 

An  interim  committee  functioning 
since  the  first  of  the  year  was  com- 
posed of  Ruth  Mount,  "14,  Mrs.  Wil- 
liam C.  Biel  ("Bitty”  von  Wenck, 
’30),  Laurence  White,  "33,  and  Gor- 
don McRae,  "31.  Dr.  William  Biel, 
'31,  was  chairman  of  the  nominating 
committee.  Retiring  officers  included 
Robert  A.  Keller,  "36,  Mrs.  J.  Holmes 
Ford  ( Louise  Arnold,  ’23),  Alex  Dick, 
"05,  and  Albert  J.  "Bud”  Hicks,  ’39. 

Lawrence  N.  White,  "33 
President 

SAN  DIEGO  — The  San  Diego-Ober- 
lin  Club  met  on  February  8,  at  6:30 
in  the  lounge  of  the  House  of  Hospi- 
tality, Balboa  Park.  Of  the  thirty-two 
persons  present,  twenty-four  were 
alumni  and  eight  were  guests. 

As  a highlight  of  the  evening 
Francis  Kellog,  "04,  showed  slides  of 
Oberlin  and  the  1954  Commencement. 
Mr.  Kellog’s  pictures  were  taken  when 
Oberlin  was  green  and  lovely.  To 
Californians  the  greenness  of  Oberlin 
in  June  is  especially  impressive.  We 
have  color  here  most  of  the  year,  but 
we  forget  how  beautiful  the  elms  are. 

Another  highlight  was  a tape  re- 
cording by  Leslie  H.  Fishel,  Jr.,  "43, 
Executive  Secretary  of  the  Alumni  As- 
sociation. After  the  dinner  and  pro- 
gram, Florence  Otis,  "09,  played  Ober- 
lin songs  on  the  piano  and  everyone 
joined  in  the  singing. 

Jean  Filkins,  "38 
Secretary 

ST.  LOUIS  — The  St.  Louis-Oberlin 
Club  met  for  dinner  at  the  Grace 
Methodist  Church  on  January  10. 
Thirty-five  members  were  present,  in- 
cluding President  William  E.  Steven- 
son and  Dean  Blair  Stewart. 

Harry  Zekind,  "26,  president  of  the 
Club,  presided  over  the  party,  which 
was  a lot  of  fun.  He  awarded,  for 
meritorious  service  "honorary  degrees'" 
and  citations  to  various  officers  of  the 
local  club,  to  President  Stevenson, 
Dean  Stewart,  and  to  Alumni  Secre- 
tary Leslie  H.  Fishel  (in  absentia). 


After  the  awarding  of  these  "hon- 
orary degrees”  Dean  Stewart  spoke 
and  then  President  Stevenson  talked 
informally  about  Oberlin  — about  the 
building  program,  various  grants, 
scholarship  funds  and  awards  given  to 
Oberlin.  He  also  spoke  about  the 
present  activities  of  the  school  and  its 
policies. 

Cynthia  L.  Dean,  "45 
Secretary-Treasurer 

ROCHESTER — The  Rochester-Ober- 
lin  Club  held  a most  successful  Christ- 
mas party  on  December  29.  Approxi- 
mately sixty  people  were  present  in- 
cluding several  of  the  present  students 
and  around  ten  prospective  students 
from  the  Rochester  area. 

WILMINGTON  — The  Wilmington- 
Oberlin  Club  met  November  2,  1955, 
at  the  home  of  H.  Wade  Rinehart, 
"19.  Twenty-two  people  including 
Richard  Seaman,  "55,  assistant  director 
of  Admissions  and  Paul  Douglas,  Di- 
rector of  Public  Relations  were  pres- 
ent. 

President  Don  Niederhauser,  "40, 
gave  an  interesting  report  of  his  visit 
to  the  Club  President’s  Council  at 
Homecoming.  Richard  (Bunky) 
Seaman  gave  an  up-to-the-minute  re- 
port of  the  progress  of  the  Develop- 
ment Fund,  and  Paul  Douglas  dis- 
cussed campus  life. 

On  Tuesday  evening,  March  27th, 
the  College  Choir  presented  a concert 
at  the  Cathedral  Church  of  St.  John, 
as  part  of  their  spring  tour  in  the  east. 
The  Oberlin  Club  of  Delaware  was 
proud  to  co-sponsor  this  event,  and 
we  were  more  than  gratified  to  hear 
the  precision  and  musicianship  of  the 
choir  on  such  a professional  level. 

This  being  the  first  time  that  Wil- 
mington has  been  included  in  the  itin- 
erary of  the  choir,  and  with  the  com- 
petition of  many  local  concerts  sched- 
uled during  the  same  week,  we  were 
happy  to  have  the  church  filled  to 
capacity,  not  only  with  Oberlin  alumni 
but  with  many  people  from  the  music 
field  in  this  area. 

I think  that  this  is  a tribute  to  the 
excellent  reputation  of  Mr.  Robert 
Fountain  and  the  Oberlin  Choir.  After 
hearing  their  marvelous  program  and 
the  subsequent  expressions  of  hope  that 
they  would  return  in  the  future  from 
many  of  those  in  attendance,  I am 
sure  that  Oberlin  could  not  have  sent 
better  musical  ambassadors  to  Wil- 
mington. 

Nancy  Lee  Rice,  '53 
Secretary-Treasurer 

CHICAGO,  WOMEN  — A section  of 
the  Chicago-Oberlin  Club  (La  Grange, 
Hinsdale,  Wheaton,  Western  Springs) 


FOR  MAY  1956 


21 


OBERLIN  MEN’S  CLUB  of  Cleveland  at  the  Mid-Day  Club,  February  22.  The 
newly  formed  club  had  one  hundred  and  thirty  in  attendance  to  hear  talks  by 
President  William  E.  Stevenson  and  Walter  K.  Bailey,  T9,  president  of  Warner 
& Swasey  Co.  Toastmaster  was  Sparky  DiBiasio,  ’40,  assistant  principal  of 
Euclid  High  School,  Cleveland. 


met  at  the  home  of  Mrs.  Helen  Har- 
mon, mother  of  Barbara  Harmon,  ’56, 
on  Friday  evening,  February  17.  Be- 
cause of  a bad  blizzardy  night  only 
fourteen  were  able  to  attend. 

After  delicious  refreshments  the 
group  enjoyed  colored  slides  of 
Oberlin  Today.  Very  generous  con- 
tributions for  the  Scholarship  Fund 
were  received  which  will  be  added  to 
those  of  the  Oak  Park  and  River  For- 
est groups,  all  part  of  the  Oberlin 
Women's  Club  of  Chicago. 

Alice  Ward,  ’15 
President 

CHICAGO,  NORTH  SHORE  — A 
one  o'clock  luncheon  meeting  was 
held  February  23  at  the  home  of  Mrs. 
Philip  Gott.  The  three  co-hostesses 
were  Mrs.  A.  H.  Prasse  (Fannie  Dit- 
trick,  T9),  Mrs.  M.  N.  McKinney 
(Katherine  Hughs,  ’34),  and  Miss 
Ethel  Cain,  x'll. 

Colored  slides  were  shown  of  the 
George  Bents’,  '20  (Eleanor  Hopkins, 
'22 ) four  months  European  trip  this 
past  summer.  The  photographs  were 
excellent,  and  Eleanor  gave  a most  in- 
teresting account  of  their  experience 
in  taking  them. 

Alice  Anderson  Galloway,  T6 
President 

On  March  3,  some  thirty  members 
of  the  Oberlin  Women's  Club  of  Chi- 
cago, representing  classes  from  the  ’90’s 
on  down  into  the  '50’s,  met  for  luncheon 
in  the  Club  Room  of  the  Art  Institute. 

Of  great  interest  and  importance  to 
all  was  the  progress  report  on  raising 
funds  for  1956  scholarship  aid  through 
benefit  parties  or  teas  in  homes  of  mem- 
bers. Two  such  parties  have  been  held. 
The  first  was  at  the  home  of  Geraldine 
Schloerb  Meyer,  '42,  in  River  Forest 
on  January  12  th.  The  second  was  at 
Mrs.  Helen  B.  Marman’s  in  Western 
Springs  on  February  17th.  Both  were 
highly  successful  in  purpose  and  most 
enjoyable.  If  possible  more  neighbor- 
hood meetings  of  this  sort  will  be 
planned  in  Chicago  and  other  suburbs. 

A business  session  and  a conducted 
tour  of  the  Old  Masters,  completed  the 
program  for  the  day. 

Elizabeth  A.  Hughes,  TO 
Corresponding  Secretary 

CLEVELAND,  WOMEN  — The 
Cleveland-Oberlin  Club  began  their 
Garret  Shop  Week  sales  February  20, 
under  the  direction  of  Mrs.  J.  Melvin 
Young  (Bernice  Harte,  ’35).  Mem- 
bers who  volunteered  use  of  their 
homes  as  collection  centers  include 
Mrs.  Harry  M.  Will  (Helen  Thomp- 
son, ’22),  Mrs.  Philip  Worcester 
(Virginia  Brooks,  ’44)  and  Mrs.  Mel- 
vin Young  for  the  East  Side,  and  Mrs. 


E.  M.  Shelton  (Carolyn  Klinfelter, 
'18 ) Mrs.  Jack  Boughton  (Elizabeth 
Walser,  ’39),  for  the  West  Side.  Over 
1400  was  realized  for  the  Scholarship 
Fund. 

Hostesses  for  a buffet  supper  on 
Wednesday  evening,  February  29, 
were  Mrs.  Sherman  Dye  (Jean  For- 
sythe, ’38)  East  Side,  and  Mrs.  Rich- 
ard J.  Davis  (Marion  Sprague,  ’39) 
West  Side. 

Entertainment  for  the  evening  at 
both  gatherings  was  a resume  of  past 
Mock  Conventions  and  a preview  of 
the  one  coming  up  by  four  college 
students.  Van  Beck  Hall,  ’56  and 
Joan  Nelson,  '56,  met  with  the  East 
Side  group  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John 
Lawrence,  ’56  ( Elinor  Holzinger,  ’58) 
and  Dorothy  Maloney,  ’56,  met  with 
the  West  Side  group. 

Hospitality  Chairman  Mrs.  Roy  G. 
Harley  (Jane  Edwards,  ’38)  was  in 
charge  of  decorations  and  name  tags 
for  both  dinners. 

YOUNGSTOWN  — The  Youngs- 
town-Oberlin  Club  has  held  several 
meetings  in  recent  months.  On  No- 
vember 2,  twenty-seven  members  met 
at  the  home  of  Grace  Jones,  k’30. 
Mrs.  Karl  E.  Soller  ( Patricia  Brady, 
’45)  was  dinner  chairman.  Mrs. 
Eustace  Galvin  was  the  speaker  at 
this  meeting  and  brought  an  interest- 
ing story  about  her  experiences  in  the 
White  House.  Mrs.  Galvin  was  sec- 
retary to  an  official  in  the  Depart- 
ment of  the  Interior  when  all  plans 
for  remodelling  the  White  House 
were  formed. 

On  December  7,  Mrs.  C.  B.  Miller, 
Jr.  (Harriet  E.  Miller,  ’29),  was  host- 


ess to  thirty  members  of  the  Club  at 
a Christmas  party  and  installation  of 
officers.  Mrs.  John  H.  Oesch  (Pri- 
scilla R.  McCormick,  ’41)  had  charge 
of  dinner  arrangements.  Mrs.  Wil- 
liam E.  Fowler  (Martha  Bailey,  ’23) 
gave  a piano  concert  which  was  fol- 
lowed by  an  informal  exchange  of 
gifts. 

Then,  on  February  8,  twenty-one 
alumni  and  one  guest  were  present  at 
the  dinner  meeting  held  at  the  home 
of  Mrs.  Earl  Hudson  (Laura  B.  Ly- 
man, ’26).  A "Silent  Auction”  was 
the  evening’s  entertainment. 

New  officers  of  the  Club  are: 
President:  Mrs.  A.  P.  Van  Iderstine 
(Elizabeth  Cameron,  ’42);  First  Vice- 
President:  Mrs.  Maurice  Heeter 

(Beatrice  Ralston,  ’29);  Second  Vice- 
President:  Mrs.  Herman  Cover  (Eliza- 
beth Grindlay,  k'33);  Secretary:  Mrs. 
Forrest  Frye  (Virginia  L.  Rhoads, 
x'37);  Treasurer:  Mrs.  Robert  Gibson 
(I.  Marjorie  West,  x’23). 

On  March  28,  the  Oberlin  Youngs- 
town Club  had  a dinner  meeting  at 
the  home  of  Mrs.  John  H.  Oesch  (Pris- 
cilla R.  McCormick,  ’41). 

Mrs.  C.  Kenneth  Clark  (Katharine 
Griswold,  ’22)  showed  slides  depicting 
the  color  and  beauty  of  Old  Mexico. 
She  also  gave  a vivid  description  of 
many  of  the  places  visited  on  her  trip 
last  summer. 

Co-chairmen  were  Mrs.  Donald 
Childs  (Mary  Curtiss,  k'23)  and  Mrs. 
Robert  E.  Gibson  (Marjorie  West, 
x'24).  Others  on  the  committee  were 
Mrs.  Herman  Cover  (Elizabeth 
Grindley,  ’33),  Mrs.  George  Deeter 
(Florence  Head,  ’24),  Lucile  Fitch, 


22 


THE  OBERLIN  ALUMNI  MAGAZINE 


’25,  Grace  Jones,  k'30,  Mrs.  William 
Landles  (Alma  Winston,  ’28),  Mrs. 
George  Pugh  (Ellen  Berton,  k’16), 
Mrs.  Fred  W.  Rowits  (Anna  Mae 
Reimel,  x’25),  Mrs.  Karl  E.  Soller  (Pa- 
tricia Brady,  ’54),  Eleanor  Stehman, 
'45,  Mrs.  Robert  Laughlin  (Phyllis 
Ohly,  k’33)  and  Mrs.  Maurice  Heeter 
(Beatrice  Ralston,  ’29). 

Elizabeth  Van  Iderstine,  ’42 
President 

PITTSBURGH  — The  Pittsburgh- 
Oberlin  Club  held  an  Open  House  on 
Tuesday  evening,  January  3,  at  the 
home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tom  Clark,  ’39, 
for  the  Oberlin  College  students  com- 
ing from  the  Pittsburgh  area. 

Included  in  the  twenty-four  people 
present  were  four  Oberlin  students, 
David  Glick,  ’57;  Christine  Paulsen, 
’59;  Donald  Hickman,  '59;  and  Brad- 
ley Reardon,  ’58. 

An  attractive  and  delicious  buffet 
was  prepared  by  alumni  members. 

On  Friday,  March  18,  a nine  inch 
snowfall,  and  the  winter’s  worst 
weather  struck  Pittsburgh  when  area 
alumni  were  scheduled  to  meet  for 
dinner  at  seven  o’clock  in  Stouffer’s 
Penn  Avenue  Restaurant. 

Dr.  Lawrence  E.  Cole,  T8,  chairman 
of  Oberlin’s  department  of  psychology, 
was  grounded  in  New  York  and  could 
not  fly  to  Pittsburgh  as  scheduled  to 
talk  to  the  club  on  "A  Look  at  the  Li- 
beral Arts  College  Student  in  an  Age  of 
Anxiety.” 

Fortunately,  Dr.  Leslie  H.  Fishel,  ’43. 
executive  secretary  of  the  Alumni 
Association,  who  had  also  accepted  an 
invitation  to  the  dinner  managed 
somehow  to  drive  into  the  snowbound 
city,  and  once  there  agreed  to  become 
speaker  of  the  evening.  Les  talked  of 
the  Oberlin  spirit,  and  the  Oberlin 
people,  with  their  goals  of  learning, 
then  the  communication  of  that  learn- 
ing in  the  world’s  daily  search  for  truth 
and  justice. 

Reviving  fond  memories  of  life  on 
the  Oberlin  campus  for  each  alumnus, 
he  also  noted  the  way  Oberlin  alumni 
carry  collegiate  idealism  to  nation-wide 
reality.  A description  of  current  cam- 
pus activities,  including  the  coming 
Mock  Convention,  appealed  tremend- 
ously to  the  twelve  prospective  stu- 
dent attending  the  dinner  with  their 
parents.  Ten  of  diem,  incidentally, 
were  men,  and  four  of  them  came  from 
West  View  High  School,  where  Charles 
Soergel,  ’43,  is  a music  teacher. 

Guests  numbered  almost  70,  despite 
the  storm.  Presiding  at  a brief  busi- 
ness meeting,  Dr.  Minnie  L.  Lynn,  ’28, 
introduced  board  members  present  and 
Mr.  Charles  H.  Adams,  '21,  who  heads 
the  1956  Alumni  Fund  Drive.  Mrs. 


Robert  H.  MacGregor  (Lilly  M. 
Smith),  ’43,  social  chairman,  handled 
the  reservations;  Roy  Thomas  Clark, 
'39,  program  chairman,  introduced  the 
speaker.  Other  club  officers  are  Wiley 
A.  Busey,  Jr.,  ’47,  vice-president;  Mrs. 
Peter  S.  Olmsted  (Polly  Comegys),  ’45, 
secretary;  and  Martin  A.  Hamburger, 
’49,  treasurer.  New  board  members 
are  Mrs.  Louis  G.  Royston  (Martha 
Maze),  ’47,  and  William  A.  Rogers, 
’44.  Newcomers  to  the  club  in  Pitts- 
burgh this  year  are  Diane  Lawrence, 
’54,  Nancy  Brown,  ’51,  Bardarah  Mc- 
Candless,  ’48,  James  Lloyd,  '51,  and 
John  Copeland,  ’48. 

Rev.  Owen  M.  Walton,  T6,  gave  the 
invocation.  The  meeting  adjourned 
after  a period  of  questions  and  answers 
following  Dr.  Fishel’s  talk. 

Peg  Moore  Schauffler,  ’43 
Publicity  Chairman 

NORTHERN  NEW  JERSEY— Ober- 
lin Alumni  and  friends  from  Northern 
New  Jersey  met  March  10  at  8 o’clock 
at  the  West  Orange  Community  House, 
West  Orange.  The  party  was  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Club’s  scholarship  fund. 

This  was  the  Club’s  first  really  social 
evening,  and  everyone  said  they  had  a 
wonderful  time.  Since  most  people 
were  lost,  the  party  didn’t  start  until 
around  9 o’clock. 

The  program  featured  songs  by 
Warren  Schmolls,  ’43,  who  made  his 
debut  at  Town  Hall  last  fall  and  won 
the  annual  award  sponsored  by  the 
Madrigal  Society  of  New  York.  Slides 
about  Oberlin,  an  Alcoa  movie,  "Un- 
finished Rainbows,”  games,  dancing, 
and  community  singing  with  Mrs.  G. 
Stanley  Platt  ( Eleanor  Adams,  ’43 ) at 
the  piano,  rounded  out  the  evening. 

The  Scholarship  Committee,  of 
which  Mrs.  Walter  Halfman  (Clarice 
McDonald,  ’40)  is  chairman,  had 
charge  of  arrangements. 

Reservation  Committee  chairmen 
were:  Mrs.  John  M.  Gardner  (Ruth 
Holland,  ’38),  Mrs.  Ralph  Gilbert 
(Josephine  Richards,  ’47),  Mrs.  John 
H.  Mason  ( Alice  Tallmadge,  ’47 ) , Mrs. 
William  R.  Ruch  (Jean  Maust,  ’45), 
Mrs.  L.  A.  D’Arsaro  (Barbara  Sachs, 
’49),  Mrs.  James  R.  Youtz  (Marilyn 
Jenkins,  ’43),  Dr.  Robert  Kroc,  ’29, 
Mrs.  Grant  Buttermore  (Gwendolyn 
Freeman,  ’45),  Mrs.  William  Axtell 
(Enid  Harper,  '41 ). 

Clarice  McDonald  Halfman,  ’40 
Scholarship  Chairman 

ANN  ARBOR  — Nearly  a dozen  high 
school  seniors  gathered  at  the  apart- 
ment of  Ruth  Bradford,  ’55,  and  Shir- 
ley David,  ’55,  in  late  December  to 
hear  about  the  glories  of  the  old  Alma 
Mater.  Norm  Thoms,  ’55,  spoke  , on 
athletics,  Joan  Steiner,  ’55,  talked  on 


student  government  and  the  counsel- 
ing system.  Virginia  DeVyver  Flet- 
cher, ’53,  drew  on  the  knowledge  she 
gained  as  assistant  recreation  director 
at  Oberlin  to  explain  the  pros  and  cons 
of  Oberlin  social  life.  Shirley  and 
Ruth  served  up  conservatory  informa- 
tion along  with  the  cocoa. 

Originally  scheduled  to  last  an  hour 
and  a half,  the  party  lasted  nearly  four 
hours  under  the  persistent  questioning 
of  the  high  school  students.  Frankly 
an  experiment,  this  meeting  of  school 
students  with  some  "younger”  alumni 
proved  to  be  a very  successful  way  of 
advertising  Oberlin.  Perhaps  it  could 
be  tried  in  other  graduate  centers  where 
several  young  alumni  are  gathered. 

The  meeting  was  under  the  general 
sponsorship  of  the  Oberlin  Alumni 
Club  of  Ann  Arbor. 

Larry  Bandfield,  ’55 
Chairman 

CINCINNATI  — The  Oberlin  Cin- 
cinnati Alumni  Club  held  its  annual 
"get-to-gether"  on  March  29,  for  the 
present  alumni,  students,  and  prospec- 
tive students  at  the  home  of  Mrs.  Wil- 
liam A.  Mitchell.  I am  happy  to  re- 
port that  the  affair  was  a huge  suc- 
cess. 

For  several  years  Mrs.  Mitchell, 
president  of  the  Club,  has  opened  her 
home  for  this  meeting,  and  the  stu- 
dents and  adumni  owe  her  a sincere 
vote  of  thanks  for  making  these  meet- 
ings such  a success. 

Robert  O.  Smith,  Jr.,  ’38 
Admissions  Chairman 

WESTERN  MASSACHUSETTS  — 
On  April  2,  one  hundred  and  ten  mem- 
bers and  friends  of  .he  Oberlin  Club 
of  Western  Massachusetts  met  for  din- 
ner before  attending  a concert  by  the 
Oberlin  College  Choir. 

The  Choir  is  magnificent!  Professor 
Robert  Fountain,  -et  al,  are  to  be  con- 
gratulated. It  was  a wonderful  eve- 
ning. 

Henry  M.  Passmore,  ’48 
President 

DETROIT  — The  Detroit-O  b e r 1 i n 
Alumni  Club  met  at  four  different 
homes  February  25  for  a Pot  Luck 
Supper.  Because  of  bad  weather  and 
illness  only  48  members  were  able  to 
enjoy  the  parties. 

Hostesses  for  the  evening  were: 
Mrs.  Carl  Haessler  (mother  of  Celia 
Leighton,  ’56);  Mrs.  J.  Paul  Leonard, 
(Dortha  Salisbury,  ’24);  Mrs.  Everett 
V.  Martin,  (Dorothy  Green,  ’27); 
Mrs.  R.  F.  Laitner  (Jeanne  Smith, 
’40). 

I attended  the  dinner  at  Mrs.  Haess- 
ler’s  home  and  enjoyed  it  very  much. 

I know  others  had  equally  good  times. 

Amy  F.  Webster,  '16 
Secretary 


FOR  MAY  1956 


23 


Oberlin  in  Sports 

by  William  I.  JUDSON 


WITH  ALL  FIVE  of  Oberlin's 
spring  sports  having  veteran 
squads  except  golf,  the  Yeoman  ath- 
letes got  off  to  an  all-winning  start 
on  opening  day. 

Following  the  pattern  of  rhe  past 
two  years,  Coach  Bob  Kretchmar’s 
baseball  team  opened  against  Capital 
University.  The  Caps  won  5-1  de- 
cisions in  both  ’54  and  ’55,  but  this 
year  the  Yeomen  came  out  on  top  with 
a 9-4  victory. 

Cliff  Stevenson’s  lacrosse  team 
played  a March  contest  with  Cortland 
State  when  the  New  Yorkers  made 
a vacation  trip  into  this  area.  After 
winning  that  game,  12-0,  they  also 
won  their  regular  season  opener  over 
Ohio  State,  12-6. 

The  tennis  team,  again  coached  by 
Lysle  Bucler,  had  an  easy  time  in  win- 
ning their  first  match  with  Akron,  8-1. 

Dan  Kinsey’s  track  team,  loaded  with 
20  returning  lettermen  and  several 
promising  freshmen,  is  poised  for  its 
opening  meet  with  Wooster,  and  Coach 
Bob  Clark’s  golfers  open  their  season 
here  against  Akron. 

BASEBALL 

DAVE  HOECKER,  ’56,  started  on 
the  mound  for  Oberlin  at  Capital, 
but  he  gave  way  to  Dale  Conly,  ’56,  in 
the  6th.  Dave  ran  into  trouble  in  the 
5th  after  getting  the  first  two  men  out 
on  a tap  to  second  and  a strikeout.  A 
hit  batsman,  a walk  and  two  hits  gave 
the  Caps  two  runs  and  a 3-2  lead. 
Oberlin,  however,  bounced  back  with 
the  tying  run  in  the  6th  and  sewed  it 
up  in  the  8th,  when  they  put  together 
three  hits,  three  walks  and  had  the 
benefit  of  four  errors. 

Jon  Christianson,  ’56,  If,  led  the  Yeo- 
man attack  with  three  hits  in  four 
trips,  and  Dick  Wigley,  '57,  rf,  and  Don 
Webster,  ’58,  lb,  each  had  two  for  four. 
Other  Yeomen  who  broke  into  the 
opening  game  lineup  were:  Captain 
Bill  Weaver,  '56,  cf;  Bob  Ashcraft,  '57, 
2b;  Jack  Williams,  '58,  3b;  Edwin 
Sundt,  ’58,  ss;  and  John  Chivily,  ’57, 
and  Clyde  Slicker,  ’58,  c. 

LACROSSE 

LED  BY  Co-Captains  Jerry  Abeles, 
'56,  and  Gary  Tucker,  ’56,  the  la- 
crosse team  has  13  lettermen  back  from 
last  year’s  team  which  won  four  of  its 
first  five  games  and  then  ran  into 
trouble  in  its  final  three  games. 


After  their  good  showing  in  the 
first  two  games,  Stevenson  had  high 
praise  for  the  work  of  Ben  Lindfors,  '59, 
Jerry  Glasoe,  ’56,  and  Ralph  Dupee, 
’57,  on  the  attack;  Chuck  Suhr,  ’56,  Del 
Mason,  '56,  Ron  Oakley,  ’56,  Bruce 
Marcus,  ’58,  Joe  Montague,  ’56,  Dave 
Hibbard,  '59,  and  Abeles  in  midfield; 
Tucker,  Tom  McDade,  ’58,  and  Bill 
Reed,  ’57,  on  defense;  and  Charlie 
Sheptin,  ’56,  and  Roger  Heinzen,  ’57, 
in  the  goal. 

TENNIS 

WITH  GRADUATION  taking 
only  one  of  his  singles  players 
of  last  year,  Coach  Lysle  Butler’s  net- 
ters  should  have  another  of  their 
perennially  strong  teams. 

Seven  lettermen  — Captain  Gary 
Craven,  ’56,  Bill  Brandeis,  ”57,  Dave 
Byrens,  ’58,  Jim  Compere,  '57,  Dave 
Fox,  '57,  Hart  Hessel,  '56,  and  Bob 
Jensen,  ’56,  — are  back  and  the  most 
promising  freshmen  are  probably  Gil- 
bert Gleason,  Dick  Page,  and  Bob  Ken- 
nedy. The  team  had  an  8-2  record  last 
spring  and  finished  third  in  the  Con- 
ference championship  tourney  held  be- 
hind Denison  and  Ohio  Wesleyan,  the 
only  teams  to  beat  them  during  the 
regular  season. 

TRACK 

ITH  A LARGE  core  of  20  re- 
turning lettermen,  Coach  Dan 
Kinsey  is  facing  the  new  track  season 
with  optimism. 

On  the  basis  of  last  year’s  perform- 
ances and  early  season  practices,  his 
most  outstanding  prospects  are: 
Henry  Edwards,  '58,  Forrest  Jobes, 
'57,  and  Walton  Johnson,  ’59,  in  the 
sprints;  Jerry  Worsham,  '57,  Bob 
Takach,  ’57,  Ivar  Ylvisaker,  ’59,  and 
Aaron  Lazare,  ’57,  in  the  440;  Tyler 
Olsen,  ’57,  Dave  McKnight,  '58,  and 
Rog  Livingston,  ’58,  in  the  880;  Bob 
Service,  ’58,  and  LeRoy  Lamborn,  ’59, 
in  the  mile;  John  Miller,  ’56,  and 
Garth  McCormick,  '56,  in  the  two- 
mile;  Steve  Wise,  ’57,  Chuck  Robison, 
'57,  John  Kepler,  '59,  Fred  Gaige,  ’59, 
and  Johnson  in  the  hurdles;  Doug 
Davis,  '57,  Art  Pascoe,  '58,  and  Gaige 
in  the  pole  vault;  Jan  Jenniches,  ’57, 
Don  Tull,  ’59,  and  John  Fisher,  ’58, 
in  the  high  jump;  Jenniches,  Wise, 
and  Gaige  in  the  broad  jump;  Arno 
Hanel,  ’56,  Dick  Henderson,  ’57, 
Fisher,  Ray  Carlson,  '59,  and  Bill 
Vaile,  ’59,  in  the  shot  and  discus. 


SPRING  SPORTS  SCHEDULES 

BASEBALL 

April: 


14 

at  Capital 

9 

4 

19 

Hiram 

14 

1 

21 

at  Denison 

5 

2 

25 

Kenyon 

8 

7 

28 

at  Wooster 

May: 

2 

Fenn 

3 

at  Ohio  Wesleyan 

2 

4 

8 

Otterbein 

10 

at  Allegheny 

15 

Mr.  Union 

19 

Akron 

TENNIS 

April: 

14 

Akron 

8 

1 

18 

John  Carroll 

8 

1 

21 

Mt.  Union 

6 

1 

25 

Kenyon 

1 

5 

28 

at  Denison 

0 

5 

May: 

1 

at  Kent  State 

7 

2 

3 

Wooster 

8 

1 

7 

at  Ohio  Wesleyan 

10 

at  Western  Reserve 

15 

at  Hiram 

18 

Ohio  Conference 

TRACK 

April: 

21 

Wooster 

83 

44 

25 

Findlay  112 

14/2 

28 

Ashland-Bluffton 

116 

10 

33 

May: 

5 

Case-Fenn  99/ 

391/2 

20 

9 

Akron-Hiram 

12 

at  Denison 

16 

Central  State 

19 

at  Kent  State 

25 

Ohio  Conference 

26 

meet  at  Wooster 

LACROSSE 

March 

24 

Cortland  State 

12 

0 

April: 

14 

at  Ohio  State 

12 

6 

21 

at  Denison 

8 

3 

28 

at  Kenyon 

8 

7 

May: 

4 

Ohio  State 

8 

2 

12 

Kenyon 

19 

Cleveland  Club 

26 

Denison 

GOLF 

April: 

61/ 

13 1/2 

17 

Akron 

20 

Heidelberg 

4 

16 

24 

at  Case-Hiram  (Aurora) 

( canceled ) 

30 

at  Kenyon  (Granville) 

141/2 

1/2 

May: 

10/ 

4 

Wooster 

9/2 

8 

Mt.  Union 

11 

Ohio  Wesleyan 

14 

at  Ohio  Intercollegiate 

19 

at  Ohio  Conference 

24 


THE  OBERLIN 


ALUMNI  MAGAZINE 


ACADEMY 

Elias  Hicks,  Quaker  Liberal  by  Bliss  Forbush 
(13-15),  has  been  published  by  Columbia  Uni- 
versity Press. 

1891 

Rev.  Edward  French,  t,  is  the  oldest  ordained 
Congregational  minister  in  the  Vermont  Confer- 
ence. He  began  preaching  at  Guildhall.  Vt.,  in 
June,  1892,  and  has  served  nine  churches.  He 
has  arthritis  in  his  right  knee  but  is  able  to  do  a 
little  light  work  in  his  shop.  He  makes  his 
home  in  Johnson,  Vt. 

1898 

Charles  H.  Christian,  son  of  Mrs.  Charles 
Christian  (Anna  Salzer),  died  on  March  21.  He 
was  an  executive  with  the  Tnterlake  Iron  Co.  of 
Cleveland.  Since  retiring  from  her  position  as 
assistant  principal  of  West  High  School.  Cleve- 
land, Mrs.  Christian  has  been  living  at  Orlando, 
Fla. 

1899 

Jessie  Kelly  has  had  a year  of  operations  since 
March  1955,  but  reports  that  she  is  recuperating 
well.  She  lives  at  811  Holly  St.,  Mena,  Ark. 

1901 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  L.  Laird  (Mary  Day) 
have  returned  to  their  home  in  Ashtabula,  Ohio, 
after  spending  the  winter  in  Florida.  They  spent 
half  of  their  time  in  Clearwater  Beach  where 
their  daughter  Helen,  ’38,  and  Tom  Harris,  ’33, 
live  with  their  family.  The  remainder  of  their 
time  in  Florida  was  spent  in  Ft.  Lauderdale. 

1903 

Winifred  Banschbach  Putnam  writes  from 
flood  damaged  Yuba  City,  California:  . . . “I 
can’t  explain  to  you  how  busy  I have  been  the 
past  three  months  trying  to  get  organized.  I 
really  do  not  get  enough  sleep  or  rest.  Three 
‘wet’  houses  to  clean  up  and  revamp  have  taken 
all  my  strength  and  endurance.  My  own  resi- 
dence was  shoved  off  its  foundation,  and  only  this 
week  was  lifted  and  straightened  around.  I was 
the  only  one  to  attend  to  all  of  the  accompany- 
ing business.  Even  now  I should  be  off  to  buy 
more  paint,  curtain  rods,  a couple  of  screen 
doors,  and  the  like. 

“Very  fortunately  I was  spared  the  terrifying 
ordeal  of  the  awful  rush  of  water  which  hit  my 
section  of  town  the  hardest.  I was  off  on  a bus 
tour  to  Acapulco,  Mexico.  I read  the  news  of 
the  danger  to  Marysville  as  we  were  entering 
Mexico  City.  Four  of  us  on  the  bus  lived  in 
the  devastated  area.  But  what  could  we  do? 
We  continued  on  with  the  tour.  . . . 

“We  returned  to  Marysville  January  6,  and  in 
the  bus  depot  learned  much  of  the  wrecked  con- 
ditions of  Yuba  City.  We  did  not  know  in 
which  house  we  would  find  shelter.  And  were 
we  ever  happy  to  see  the  lights  in  the  home  of 
Mrs.  Grace  Trout,  my  companion,  the  warmth 
and  family  there. 

“Many  heroic  stories  did  not  reach  the  press, 
nor  stories  about  the  lives  lost  when  the  rush 
of  water  caught  up  with  and  drowned  people  in 
their  cars,  and  on  the  highways.  How  the  labor 
camps,  the  auto  camps,  the  hospitals  were  evacu- 
ated in  time  is  a mystery  to  me ! Warning  was 
not  given  until  one  hour  after  the  levee  broke, 
the  levee  being  one  and  one-half  mile  south. 

“My  real  strain  and  endurance  test  began 
when  the  second  evacuation  was  called.  That 
night,  at  2 a.  m.,  after  friends  had  stacked  fur- 
niture on  tables  and  high  shelves  I left  with  them 
for  relatives  of  theirs  on  higher  ground.  Two  of 
us  slept  on  the  floor  the  rest  of  the  night.  At  8 
o’clock  the  next  morning  I was  on  my  way  to 
Chico.  Fortunately  each  car  full  of  refugees  had 
friends  waiting  for  them.  When  I arrived,  so 
unexpectedly,  there  were  already  five  refugees  at 
this  house.  We  were  taken  care  of  for  two  days 
and  even  given  clothing.  The  water  did  not  come 
into  the  city  this  time,  but  the  levee  was  weak, 
and  there  was  great  danger,  as  there  were  ‘boils’ 
— the  water  shooting  up  several  feet  high,  show- 
ing that  there  was  water  underneath  the  levee 
banks. 

"After  this  second  evacuation,  it  kept  on  rain- 
ing. I couldn’t  get  into  my  house.  The  doors 


TEN  THOUSAND  STRONG 

By  DOROTHY  M.  SMITH,  ’29 


Scurlock  Studio 


LOUISIANA  LADY7  — Camille  Lucie 
Nickerson,  Mus.B.,  '16,  Mus.M.,  ’32,  is 
known  as  the  “Louisiana  Lady” 
when  on  concert  tour  singing  Creole 
folk  songs,  many  of  them  her  own  ar- 
rangements. An  accomplished  pian- 
ist, as  well  as  a singer,  Camille  is  an 
associate  professor  of  music  at  How- 
ard University.  For  a time  after  her 
graduation  from  the  Conservatory, 
Camille  was  on  the  concert  stage. 
Later,  her  interest  in  Creole  folk  mu- 
sic led  to  her  receiving  a Rosenwald 
Fellowship  for  research  in  the  field. 
Last  summer,  following  a perform- 
ance at  the  National  Negro  Opera 
Foundation’s  Evening  Under  the 
Stars,  held  in  Washington,  D.  C.,  Ca- 
mille left  for  France,  where  she  gave 
some  14  recitals  before  large  and  en- 
thusiastic audiences.  This  Septem- 
ber she  starts  on  a concert  tour  that 
will  take  her  throughout  the  United 
States. 


were  jammed  shut,  the  furniture  piled  up  in  the 
front  room.  I had  a very  helpless  feeling.  I 
finally  got  Red  Cross  help  — free  labor.  1 worked 
with  a crew  of  five  men  as  they  cleaned  out  the 
house.  Some  of  the  furniture  was  shoved  out 
the  front  door  to  be  carted  away,  some  out  the 
back  to  be  looked  over.  We  worked  in  soft  mud 
that  sucked  at  our  feet.  And  so  for  the  next 
two  weeks,  when  it  was  not  raining,  or  the  cold 
north  wind  blowing.  I plodded  around  in  the 
back  yard,  wondering  what  I could  save.” 

1905 

Rev.  Andrew  Moncol,  s.  celebrated  in  Febru- 
ary the  50th  anniversary  of  his  ordination  to  the 
Congregational  Christian  ministry.  Most  of  his 
ministerial  service  has  been  with  Slavic  immi- 
grants in  Minnesota  and  in  Cleveland.  Tn  1950 
lie  visited  Czechoslovakia  to  find  out  more  about 
the  religious  conditions  of  the  Congregational 
churches  there,  preaching  in  several  Protestant 
churches  in  Prague  and  in  Slovakia. 

1907 

Dr.  Ruth  Parmelee  is  establishing  her  perman- 
ent headquarters  at  144  Hancock  St.,  Auburn- 
dale.  Mass.,  although  she  expects  to  be  out  of 
the  States  for  five  months,  visiting  Greece  and 
Turkey,  and  other  Middle  East  areas. 

1908 

Last  fall  Eugene  C.  Bird  served  as  technical 


leader  for  a party  of  Brazilian  Farm  organization 
leaders  on  a study  of  US  agriculture  which  cov- 
ered 13  states  in  9 weeks.  He  has  been  asked 
to  lead  a group  of  Brazilian  Extension  Leaders 
on  a three-months  study  and  perhaps  another 
group  in  the  fall.  Though  technically  "retired,” 
he  is  busier  than  ever.  Mrs.  Bird  has  had  the 
misfortune  to  break  her  hip,  but  they  hope  that 
she  will  be  well  enough  for  an  Oberlin  visit  this 
spring. 

1910 

The  University  of  Buffalo  Press  has  recently 
published  a report  by  Dr.  Edward  S.  Jones 
"College  Graduates  and  Their  Later  Success” 
which  is  a study  of  men  graduates  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Buffalo  twenty  years  after  graduation. 

Wilbur  Swan  is  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyter 
ian  Church  in  Superior,  Neb.  Two  of  his  sons 
are  Oberlin  graduates  — Jon.  ’50,  is  teaching  in 
Switzerland,  and  Arthur,  ’46,  recently  returned 
from  a tour  abroad  with  the  Robert  Shaw  choral 
group. 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  Jesse  F.  Williams  (Gertrude 
Finney)  spent  ten  days  in  Panama  during  Janu 
ary.  They  made  the  trip  by  freighter  out  of 
San  Francisco.  Their  home  is  in  Carmel,  Calif. 

1912 

Shirley  Esther  Lee’s  address  is  now  Methodist 
Home  for  the  Aged,  4353  Hamilton  Ave.,  Cin- 
cinnati 24,  Ohio.  A bad  heart  keeps  her  in  bed. 
She  knows  no  one  in  Cincinnati,  and  she  would 
appreciate  cards  or  letters  from  her  classmates 
and  friends  and  visits  from  Cincinnati  alumni. 

Elma  Pratt  was  in  Oberlin  in  late  March,  en 
route  to  South  America  to  work  in  the  field  of 
art.  While  here  she  gave  a talk  in  costmue  and 
showed  slides  of  Guatemala  and  Peru  and  sam- 
ples of  textiles. 

1914 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.  Dana  Hopkins  (Flossie 
Michaels,  x)  live  in  Landover  Hills,  Md.  Mr. 
Hopkins  is  executive  secretary  of  the  National 
Association  of  Business  Schools  with  headquar- 
ters in  Washington,  D.  C. 

1915 

Matsuta  Hara,  t,m,  has  retired  from  the  presi- 
dency of  Seinan  Jo  Gakiun  after  33  years  (in- 
cluding 10  years  of  deanship).  A new  high  school 
building  has  been  named  in  his  honor,  "Hara 
Memorial  Hall.” 

Merle  Lyon  has  been  appointed  as  Referee  of 
the  Appeals  Council  of  the  Social  Security  Ad- 
ministration for  the  southeastern  area  of  the 
U.  S.  His  headquarters  are  in  Atlanta.  Ga.,  and 
he  will  have  charge  of  all  of  the  appeals  cases  for 
the  states  of  Georgia,  Florida,  South  Carolina 
and  part  of  Tennessee.  After  graduating  from 
Chicago  Law  School  in  1921,  Mr.  Lyon  prac- 
ticed law  in  Chicago  until  1938,  when  he  entered 
government  service  as  a lawyer  on  the  staff  of 
the  General  Counsel  of  the  Federal  Trade  Com- 
mission in  Washington.  Six  years  later  he  trans- 
ferred to  the  Civil  Aeronautics  Board,  specializ- 
ing in  route  hearings  involving  applications  for 
new  airline  routes  throughout  the  world.  From 
1947-50  he  served  on  the  Vested  Property  Claims 
Committee  of  the  Philippine  Alien  Property  Ad- 
ministration, and  for  the  past  five  years  has  been 
Chief  Trial  Attorney  for  the  Veterans  Adminis- 
tration, in  charge  of  legal  staff  engaged  in  the 
defense  of  cases  before  the  Veterans  Education 
Appeals  Board. 

1916 

Isiah  Oberholtzer,  tm,  writes  from  Piney 
Woods,  Miss. : “We  are  down  in  the  deep  South 
for  the  winter  and  to  assist  a very  worthy  cause 
of  cementing  good  will  among  the  races.  We 
feel  the  Colored  folks  have  been  neglected  in 
every  field  but  the  economic.  . . . We  will  be 
back  in  Trotwood,  O..  by  June.” 


1917 

Henry  R.  McPhee,  Jr.,  son  of  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Henry  McPhee  (Mary  Ziegler)  ’18,  is  engaged 
to  Joanne  Lambert.  Henry  graduated  from 


FOR  MAY  1956 


25 


1 rinceton  and  Harvard  Law  School,  served  in 
World  War  II  in  the  Navy,  and  is  a member  of 
the  President’s  staff  at  the  White  House.  Joanne 
graduated  from  Connecticut  College,  studied  at 
the  University  of  Geneva,  Switzerland,  for  a 
year,  and  is  on  the  staff  of  Rep.  John  Robison. 
Jr.,  of  Kentucky. 

Lilliam  Montgomery  resigned  as  of  May  1 
from  her  position  as  executive  director  of  the 
YWCA  in  Wilmington,  Del.  She  has  been  in 
YW  work  for  the  past  26  years,  serving  as  ex- 
ecutive director  at  Clinton  Island,  la.,  Williams- 
port. Pa.,  and  Saginaw,  Mich.,  before  coming  to 
Wilmington  in  1948.  She  plans  to  move  to  Wash- 
ington, D.  C. 

1918 

Frances  Brown  was  married  last  Nov.  23  to 
“a  fellow  teacher  at  Roosevelt  High  School,  Day- 
ton,  O.,  Ralph  A.  Price,  a University  of  Illinois 
graduate,  M.A.,  Columbia  University,  business 
law  and  banking  — also  a companion  golfer.” 

Thomas  Farquhar  is  president  of  the  Gasflux 
Company,  a small  manufacturing  concern  which 
supplies  the  equipment  and  materials  for  the  Gas- 
flex  process  of  brazing.  The  company  has  re- 
cently moved  its  plant  from  Mansfield  to  Elyria, 
O.  Mr.  Farquahr  also  owns  Airlenco,  Inc., 
which  produces  condensing  filters  to  remove 
water  and  oil  from  compressed  air  lines. 

1919 

Leeds  Gulick,  x,  is  director  of  the  field  work 
program  of  Doshisha  Seminary  in  Kyoto,  Japan. 

1920 

Bruce  Catton,  x,  his  been  named  honorary 
chancellor  of  Union  College,  Schenectady,  N.  Y., 
for  the  year  1956-57.  He  will  deliver  the  prin- 
cipal address  at  commencement  exercises  on 
June  10  and  will  receive  the  honorary  degree  of 
doctor  of  civil  law.  Mr.  Catton  is  editor  of 
American  Heritage  magazine  and  is  well  known 
for  his  books  on  the  Civil  War.  His  “A  Stillness 
at  Appomattox”  won  the  Pulitzer  Prize  Award. 

Ray  Hengst  has  been  promoted  to  secretary 
and  general  counsel  of  the  Eaton  Manufacturing 
Co.  of  Cleveland. 


Halle-Spiegel 


MADE  MANAGER— Wilbert  Mon- 
tie, 27,  former  manager  of  the  Halle 
Cedar-Center  store,  has  been  ap- 
pointed manager  of  the  new  South- 
land store  to  be  built  soon  at  West 
130th  Street  and  Pearl  Road,  Cleve- 
land, Ohio.  Wilbert  started  his 
retailing  career  with  Halle  Bros. 
Company  in  1930,  following  his  grad- 
uation from  Oberlin,  and  was  mer- 
chandise manager  for  Halle’s  down- 
town store  from  1942  to  1952,  prior 
to  his  post  at  Cedar-Center. 


1921 

After  nine  years  in  Youngstown,  N.  Y.,  Rev. 
and  Mrs.  Frederic  Helwig  (Elmina  Chatfield) 
moved  to  Sackets  Harbor,  N.  Y.,  last  year.  Mr. 
Helwig  is  pastor  of  the  United  Church. 

1922 

Arthur  Andrews  is  teaching  economics,  sociol- 
ogy and  political  science  at  Findlay  College, 
Findlay.  O.  He  was  formerly  superintendent  of 
schools  at  Tontogany.  O.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Andrews 
and  their  three  girls  live  in  Bowling  Green,  O. 

Ben  Goodsell,  x,  plays  viola  with  the  Atlanta 
(Ga.)  Symphony  Orchestra. 

Mrs.  Henry  Gould  (Frances  Wheeler)  is 
teaching  at  Tennyson  School  in  Sheffield  Lake, 
O.,  and  lives  in  Avon  Lake. 

Mr.,  x’23,  and  Mrs.  Vincent  Hart  (Ruth 
Raine)  spent  Christmas  with  their  son  Fred,  who 
is  an  A/2c  at  Travis  Air  Force  Base  in  Califor- 
nia. On  their  way,  they  stopped  to  see  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  James  Spillane  (Grace  Arnold,  ’21)  in 
Bend,  Ore..  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wallace  Sturtevanl 
(Madge  Baldwin.  ’23)  in  San  Mateo,  Calif.,  and 
Mr.,  x 50,  and  Mrs.  Bradford  Warner  (Mary 
Beth  Yeend,  ’47)  in  San  Francisco.  They  re- 
turned to  Seattle  via  the  coast  route,  the  day 
after  it  was  reopened  after  the  floods. 

Rev.  Samuel  R.  McKinstry,  tm,  returned  last 
July  to  serve  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Marion, 
N.  Y.,  which  was  his  first  pastorate  (1922-29). 
For  the  past  26  years  he  had  served  the  Avoca 
Presbyterian  and  Howard  Union. 

1923 

‘‘New  Frontiers  in  Rural  America”  (Public 
Affairs  Press  of  Washington,  D.  C.)  by  Mrs. 
James  Steer  (Margery  Wells)  was  published  in 
February.  The  book  is  an  outgrowth  of  her  ex- 
periences in  community  improvement  projects 
and  provides  practical  suggestions  on  improving 
economic,  social  and  cultural  life  in  rural  areas. 
She  edits  the  Beaver  Township  Topic,  a monthly 
newsletter.  Living  on  a 75  acre  farm  gives  her 
a grassroots  view  of  rural  problems. 

1924 

Mrs.  Helen  Stokes  (Helen  Hamilton)  went  to 
Charleston,  W.  Va. , last  September  to  be  execu- 
tive director  of  the  YWCA.  She  is  working  with 
a staff  of  10,  plus  several  hundred  volunteers,  to 
carry  out  a program  with  more  than  5000  en- 
rolled. Charleston  is  a growing  industrial  city 
with  people  from  all  over  the  country. 

1926 

Mrs.  Homer  Coseo  (Helen  Lenhart,  x)  reports 
that  her  husband  is  an  engineer  with  the  Jeffrey 
Manufacturing  Co.  in  Columbus,  O. 

Karl  Florien  Heiser  writes:  “At  the  time  of 
our  last  reunion,  1951,  I was  doing  clinical  work 
and  research  in  mental  deficiency  in  New  Jersey. 
Much  has  happened  since  then,  especially  in 
1954.  Was  remarried  and  left  Vineland  Training 
School  to  set  up  a new  treatment-training  insti- 
tution of  my  own  in  Kentucky.  Failed  to  raise 
enough  money ; gave  up  and  took  a job  with  the 
Psychological  Corporation  in  New  York  City. 
Now  I have  an  easy  and  pleasant  life  evaluating 
industrial  executives  and  a small  amount  of  diag- 
nostic and  clinical  work  with  people  with  psy- 
chological problems.  One  son  is  in  the  Marines, 
the  other  still  in  college.  I hope  to  get  to  Ober- 
lin for  reunion  in  June.” 

LeMar  Lehman  has  sold  his  duplex  house  and 
bought  a smaller  house  at  3718  Reed  St.,  Fort 
Wayne,  Tnd.  He  would  be  glad  to  hear  from 
Oberlinians  going  through  Fort  Wayne. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harry  B.  Price  (Elizabeth 
Rugh)  flew  to  Nepal  in  January.  Harry  has 
been  appointed  UN  Economic  Advisor  to  the 
Nepal  government.  They  are  living  in  the  midst 
of  the  mountains  and  are  not  far  from  Mt.  Eve- 
rett. 

Dr.  Roberts  Rugh  is  continuing  his  research 
iii  radiology  at  Columbia  University  Medical 
Center.  His  wife  (Harriet  Sheldon  Rugh,  *2 7) 
has  charge  of  the  nursery  department  of  the 
Town  School,  a private  school  in  New  York  City. 
Their  daughter  Mary  Elizabeth,  ’49,  and  her 
husband  Jarrard  Downs,  ’49,  with  their  children, 
Jennifer  and  Michael,  have  returned  from  a 
year’s  exchange  teaching  in  Europe.  Jarry  is 
back  at  Gilwan  School  in  Baltimore,  Md.,  where 
he  has  taught  for  several  years.  Their  son,  Bill, 
’58,  is  at  Oberlin, 


1927 

Mrs.  Waller  Blocher  (Katharine  Moulton,  k) 
is  living  in  Canton,  O.  Her  husband  is  assistant 
sales  manager  tor  Republic  Steel  Corp.  there. 

1929 

t I?r'-,a,1d,  Mr5’  Harold  F'  Worley  (Winona 
Jack,  31)  have  a son,  Harold,  Jr.,  born  on  Aug. 
11,  1955.  They  live  in  Stone  Creek,  O. 

1931 

After  five  years  at  the  Cleveland  Child  Guid- 
ance ( enter,  Jessie  Bowen  lias  become  psychiat- 
ric casework  supervisor  at  the  Crile  VA  Hospital 
in  Cleveland. 

After  spending  1954-55  on  a Ford  Foundation 
grant  studying  at  the  University  of  California, 
Joseph  Himes  is  “back  at  the  old  stand,”  teach- 
ing at  North  Carolina  College. 

1933 

Jessie  M.  Dike  is  director  of  the  adult  program 
at  the  YWCA  in  Jersey  City,  N.  J.  She  is  liv- 
ing at  419  W.  115  St..  New  York  City. 

1934 

Robert  Eisenhauer  has  been  appointed  to  the 
newly  created  position  of  director  of  public  rela- 
tions for  the  New  York  Central  Railroad. 

Maylon  Hepp,  professor  of  philosophy  at  Den- 
son University,  Granville,  O.,  is  author  of  a 
textbook  “ flunking  Things  Through”  published 
in  March  by  Charles  Scribner’s  Sons. 

1935 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Robert  Bliss  (Ann  Cooke)  have 
moved  to  Arlington  Ilts.,  111.,  about  25  miles 
from  the  Chicago  “Loop.”  Bob  is  with  National 
Carbon  Company  in  Chicago.  They  have  4 
daughters,  Virginia  Ellen,  11,  Peggy,  8,  Betty, 
6,  and  Lucy  5 yrs. 

Mrs.  Eric  Orling  (Alice  Eigert)  writes  from 
90  Parkwoods  Rd.,  Manhasset,  L.  I.  : “We  are 
settling  down  in  our  new  home  on  Long  Island. 
Eric  was  elected  president  of  Baker  Castor  Oil 
Company,  subsidiary  of  National  Lead,  in  De- 
cember, and  is  now  learning  the  art  of  commut- 
ing to  the  fantastically  big  city  of  New  York. 
Our  children,  now  12,  8,  and  7,  are  adjusting  to 
the  newness  of  things  better  than  their  parents 
are,  though  I am  sure  we  shall  be  happy  here 
in  beautiful  Manhasset.” 


1936 

On  January  1,  Richard  Aszling  became  a gen- 
eral partner  in  the  firm  of  Earl  Newsom  & Co., 
public  relations  firm,  New  York  City. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gordon  Farndell  (Teresa  How- 
land) and  Carolyn  (8)  are  in  Ann  Arbor,  Mich., 
for  the  school  year.  Gordon  is  completing  resi- 
dence work  for  his  Ph.D.  in  musicology  at  the 
University  of  Michigan.  He  is  on  leave  from 
his  teaching  position  at  North  Central  College, 
Naperville,  111. 

Mrs.  Howard  A.  Garnett  (Gretchen  Nobis,  x) 
is  teaching  singing  at  Western  Reserve  Univer- 
sity. Her  husband  is  treasurer  of  the  Dairy-Pak 
Corp.  of  Cleveland. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  Stewart  Ryall  (Lucy  Wood- 
ruff, ’37)  have  moved  to  977  Carlisle  Ave.,  Ham- 
ilton, O.  Stewart  is  an  accountant  at  the  Gen- 
eral Electric  Company  plant  in  Evendale,  O. 


1937 

Laurence  Perrine.  associate  professor  of  Eng- 
lish at  Southern  Methodist  University,  Dallas. 
Texas,  is  author  of  Sound  and  Sense:  An  Intro- 
duction to  Poetry  published  in  January  by  Har- 
court.  Brace  & Company.  The  Perrines  have 
two  sons,  David,  5,  and  Douglas,  4. 


Tracy  Strong,  assistant  principal  of  the  Jnter- 
tlional  College  of  the  American  University  of 
eirut  (Lebanon)  writes:  “We  seem  to  have 

■en  travelling  during  1955,  or  rather  meeting 
sending  off  friends  at  the  airport  or  docks.  . . • 
-rtainly  Beirut  is  very  much  fulfilling  its  ms- 
rical  role  of  being  the  transshipping  point  be- 
:een  east  and  west  with  over  80  daily  landings 
id  takeoffs  at  the  International  Airport.  . . • 
s you  can  gather,  we  are  not  isolated,  even 
ougli  remote  from  part  of  the  world,  l ou  have 
idoubtedly  been  aware  of  the  continuing  ten- 
ms  in  tliis  whole  area,  but  unless  you  have 
sited  the  people,  you  may  find  it  difficult  to 


26 


THE  OBERLIN  ALUMNI  MAGAZINE 


ELECTED  PRESIDENT  — Dr.  W. 

Hobart  Hill,  ’19,  professor  of  hu- 
man relations  at  Missouri  Valley 
College  and  resident  administrator 
of  the  American  Humanics  Foun- 
dation, was  recently  elected  first 
president  of  the  newly  organized 
Missouri  Sociological  Society.  His 
wife  is  the  former  Neva  M.  John- 
son, ’17.  They  have  two  children, 
John  H.  and  Carol  Jeanne. 

appreciate  the  fact  that  there  is  still  war  in  the 
Holy  Land,  that  each  day  individuals  are  being 
shot  at  and  killed  on  both  sides  of  the  very  in- 
adequately-drawn armistice  line  of  1948.  ...  Is 
it  any  wonder  that  solutions  are  difficult,  when, 
even,  perhaps  especially  the  students  propose 
that  the  only  way  to  bring  peace  is  through  war? 

. . . Our  student  body  has  not  changed  a great 
deal,  except  that  we  are  finding  it  increasingly 
difficult  to  keep  up  with  the  growing  demand  for 
education  in  this  whole  part  of  the  world.  Our 
elementary  school  literally  turns  away  a thous- 
and students  every  year.  . . . Our  three  children 
came  through  the  year  in  fine  style  — Terry,  6H, 
is  in  first  grade  in  an  excellent  French  school; 
Tony,  4,  is  attending  an  American-type  nursery 
school;  Lauretta,  3,  keeps  busy  and  happy  at 
home. 

1938 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Will  Heiser  and  family  returned 
to  the  U.  S.  from  New  Delhi,  India,  in  Decem- 
ber. After  visiting  relatives  and  friends  along 
the  way,  they  arrived  in  Washington  in  mid- 
January.  Bill  resigned  from  his  government  po- 
sition and  joined  the  firm  of  Justin  & Courtney, 
Consulting  Engineers  in  Philadelphia.  On  Feb. 
16  he  left  the  States  again  — this  time  for 
Lahore,  Pakistan,  where  he  is  project  manager 
supervising  the  construction  of  two  small  hydro- 
electric projects  for  the  Pakistani  government. 
Since  he  expects  to  be  there  only  a few  months, 
the  family  is  living  in  Silver  Spring,  Md. 

1939 

Henry  L.  Burnett  is  a member  of  the  newly 
created  Consolidated  Training  Department  of  the 
American  Optical  Co. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Francis  Gasser  (Edda  Penko) 
have  returned  from  Norway  and  are  now  in  Las 
Cruces,  New  Mexico.  Mr.  Gasser  is  in  the  wage 
classification  division  of  the  White  Sands  Naval 
Proving  Grounds. 

Mrs.  Clifford  Harvout  (Nellis  DeLay)  has 
been  living  in  Nanuet,  Rockland  County,  New 
York,  for  the  past  six  years.  Formerly  on  the 
WQXR  music  staff,  she  is  a cellist  in  the  New 
York  City  Center  Ballet  Orchestra  and  the 
Chautauqua  Symphony.  On  April  15  she  ap- 
peared as  soloist  with  the  Suburban  Symphony, 
playing  the  Saint  Saens  Concerto  for  Violoncello. 

Mrs.  James  McEnery  (Agnes  Nordin,  x)  is 
secretary  to  the  purchasing  agent  of  the  Dayton 
Foundry,  Dayton,  O. 

J.  Laurence  Willhide  has  been  appointed  Dean 
of  the  College-Conservatory  of  Music  in  Cin- 
cinnati, O.,  effective  September  1.  He  is  now 
assistant  professor  of  music  education  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Cincinnati  and  coordinator  of  the  mu- 


sic education  department  for  the  College-Con- 
servatory. 

1940 

Mrs.  Wilbur  Eastman  (Margaret  Cheney)  and 
her  family  have  moved  to  223  Bear  Brook  Drive, 
R.D.  2,  Westwood,  N.  J.  Her  husband’s  firm, 
Prentice-Hall,  Inc.,  is  building  a new  building 
in  Englewood  Cliffs,  N.  J. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Robert  W.  Edgar  (Mary  Jane 
Hoppe)  are  in  England  this  year.  Dr.  Edgar  is 
an  exchange  professor  at  Homerton  College, 
Cambridge. 

Allen  Siebens  is  assistant  to  the  president  of 
American  Machine  and  Foundry  Co..  New  York 
City.  Allen  and  his  wife  live  in  Essex  Fells, 
N.  J. 

Louis  J.  Szabo  is  a sales  representative  for 
radio  station  WSRS  in  Cleveland  Heights,  O. 

1941 

Arnold  Blackburn  will  be  in  Europe  next  year 
on  a Fulbright  Fellowship.  Robert  Requa,  '50, 
is  “filling  in”  for  Arnold  during  1956-57  and  will 
be  teaching  organ  at  the  University  of  Kentucky 
and  organist  at  Christ  Church  in  Lexington, 
Kentucky.  At  the  present  time,  Bob  is  Minister 
of  Music  at  the  Congregational  Church  in  Nau- 
gatuck, Connecticut. 

Robert  Hadley,  x,  is  a mechanical  engineer 
with  the  Diesel  Motor  Division  of  General  Mot- 
ors in  Detroit,  Mich. 

1942 

Jean  Antes,  Dean  of  Women  at  Midland  Col- 
land  College,  Fremont,  Neb.,  is  president  of  the 
Nebraska  Personnel  and  Guidance  Association 
for  1956. 

J.  Warren  Brett,  x,  is  on  the  advertising  sales 
staff  of  Look  Magazine. 

Joy  Coombs  is  a secretary  in  Denver,  Colo. 

Mrs.  Eugene  Gordon  (Mary  Green)  writes: 
“We  are  moving  to  Tachikawa  Air  Force  Base 
just  outside  Tokyo  and  shall  be  there  until  July, 
1957.  Gene  takes  the  place  of  Jarvis  Strong, 
x’40,  who  is  returning  to  the  States. 

After  seven  years  in  Japan,  most  recently  as 
consul  in  Sapporo,  Daniel  Meloy  is  returning  to 
Washington  for  an  assignment  in  the  Department 
of  State. 

Sydney  Merrill,  x,  is  a partner  in  a general 
store  in  Bethlehem,  Conn. 

After  six  years  as  pastor  of  the  Second  Con- 
gregational Church  in  Holyoke,  Mass.,  Rev. 
Jerry  W.  Trexler,  t,  became  pastor  of  the  Con- 
gregational Church  of  San  Mateo,  Calif.,  on 
March  1. 

1943 

Gordon  Hoddinott  has  been  with  the  Dobeck- 
mun  Company  in  Cleveland  for  almost  nine 
years,  and  at  present  is  supervisor,  Laminated 
and  Extruded  Products  Division.  He  continues 
his  music  as  baritone  soloist  at  the  Church  of 
the  Cross  in  Cleveland  Heights.  Gordon  and 
his  wife,  Mary,  announce  the  birth  of  their  first 
child,  Thomas  Edwin,  on  Feb.  21  and  write  that 
“Tommy  has  already  taken  over  as  boss  of  the 
household.” 

In  April,  Rev.  George  A.  Johnson  became  pas- 
tor of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Ashta- 
bula. O.  Formerly  he  was  pastor  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Bucyrus,  O. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Francis  Kearns  (Loretta  Mas- 
ters) report  the  birth  of  Patricia  Louise  on 
March  5 in  Bozeman,  Montana. 

Mrs.  Clifford  Nordstrom  (Harriet  Brown) 
writes:  “We’re  glad  to  be  back  in  Ohio!  Clif- 
ford was  transferred  from  his  position  of  Chief 
of  Special  Services,  Lebanon,  Pa.,  VA  Hospital 
to  the  same  position  at  the  Dayton  VA  Center 
on  Jan.  15.  No  time  to  notify  Oberlin  friends 
beforehand.”  Their  new  address  — 713  Oxford 
Ave.,  Dayton  7,  O. 

Mrs.  Hugo  Wagner  (Pat  Holden,  x)  recently 
broke  her  leg  riding  horseback.  Her  husband  is 
a structural  engineer  with  the  Air  Defense  Com 
mand  at  Colorado  Springs.  The  Wagners  have 
three  children  - Ann,  1 1,  Jeanne,  7,  and  John,  5. 

Herbert  G.  Weinberg  is  a student  this  year  at 
the  University  of  Wisconsin.  He  is  married  to 
Gabriela  Ramirez. 

1944 

Patrick  Abare,  x,  has  been  transferred  from 


Anglo  Bank  at  Red  Bluff,  Calif.,  to  the  Crocker 
Anglo  National  Bank  at  Merced,  Calif. 

After  a year  and  a half  as  Registrar  and  Direc- 
tor of  Placement  at  Wilson  College,  Chambers- 
btirg.  Pa.,  Janet  Jacobs  has  changed  duties  and 
is  now  Dean  of  Freshmen  and  Director  of 
Placement. 

Mrs.  James  Mowcry  (Laura  Willmore)  is  a 
social  worker  in  New  York  City. 

For  the  next  three  years.  Virginia  Pidgeon 
will  be  serving  as  a nurse  at  the  American  Uni- 
versity of  Beirut  in  Lebanon. 

Dr.  Donald  H.  Shimler,  stm,  begins  new 
duties  on  May  1 as  minister  of  education  at  the 
Bronxville  Reformed  Church  in  Bronxville. 
N.  Y.,  a residential  community  in  Westchester 
County.  In  May,  the  church  will  break  ground 
for  a four-story  educational  building,  fellowship 
hall,  chapel,  and  extension  to  the  sanctuary 
chancel.  Dr.  Shimler,  who  received  the  doctor 
of  education  degree  from  Columbia  University 
in  1953,  has  been  minister  of  education  at  Trin- 
ity Reformed  Church  in  Canton,  O. 

John  Trowbridge,  x,  is  traffic  manager  for  the 
Kerr  Steamship  Co.  of  Seattle,  Wash. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Edward  Wagner  (Leonore  Uhl- 
man)  have  a second  son,  John  Christopher,  born 
on  Feb.  9 at  the  Japan  Baptist  Plospital,  Kyoto, 
Japan.  Leonore  and  the  children  are  living  in 
Kyoto  while  her  husband  studies  Korean  lan- 
guage and  history  and  completes  work  on  his 
Ph.D.  thesis. 

1945 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Robert  F.  Benson  (Lois  Stock- 
ton)  of  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  have  a son,  Robert 
Davis,  born  March  4. 

Dr.  Ralph  D.  Brown,  x,  recently  completed 
Army  Medical  Service  in  Munich,  Germany,  and 
returned  to  practice  internal  medicine  in  Everett, 
Wash.  Ralph  is  on  the  staff  of  the  Everett 
Clinic.  Ralph  and  his  wife  have  four  children  — 
daughter,  Noel,  son,  Dexter,  and  twins,  Gretchen 
and  James.  They  live  at  1112  Grand  Ave. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Emmett  Bullard  (Frances  Wet- 
tach,  x)  have  a third  daughter,  Kathy,  born  Aug. 


WINS  ESSAY  CONTEST  — Walter 
B.  Wright,  ’36,  staff  assistant  in  the 
finance  department  of  the  Chesa- 
peake and  Ohio  Railway  Company,  is 
winner  of  the  first  prize  of  $750  in 
the  New  York  Railroad  Club’s  1955 
essay  contest.  Walter’s  paper  was  en- 
titled “Suggestions  for  Changes  in 
Rates  to  Improve  Railroad  Traffic 
Volume  and  Net  Earnings,  with  Con- 
testant’s Views  on  Improving  the 
Competitive  Position  of  the  Rail- 
roads.” Walter  joined  the  Chesapeake 
and  Ohio  finance  department  in 
Cleveland  in  1950,  after  serving  as 
staff  assistant  to  the  president  in  the 
New  York  office. 


FOR  MAY  1956 


27 


ELECTED  TO  BOARD  OF  DIREC- 
TORS of  the  Metropolitan  Opera 
Guild,  Inc.  was  Mrs.  George  Bassett 
Roberts  (Jerry  McCord,  ’28).  She 
will  work  on  the  opera’s  educational 
program  for  secondary  schools  in 
Westchester  County. 

During  the  past  year  she  has  been 
working  for  the  Opera  Guild’s  pro- 
gram of  education  for  students  at  the 
secondary  school  level,  particularly 
in  Larchmont  and  Mamaroneck. 

Jerry  is  the  wife  of  a vice-president 
of  the  First  National  City  Bank  of 
New  York  and  was  active  for  many 
years  in  parent  activities  in  White 
Plains,  serving  as  trustee  of  the  en- 
rollment committee  and  chairman  of 
the  endowment  committee. 

The  Robertses  have  five  children 
— Pamela,  a freshman  at  Oberlin, 
David,  a sophomore  at  Choate  Pre- 
paratory, and  Judith,  Katherine  and 
Helen  — all  students  at  Windward 
School. 


28,  1955.  They  live  in  Medford,  Ore.,  where 
Emmett  is  branch  manager  of  Blake,  Moffitt  and 
Towne  Paper  Co. 

Dorothy  Gray,  x.  is  a geologic  draftsman  for 
Anaconda  Copper  Co.,  Reno,  Nev. 

Mrs.  Granville  Hurlong  (Georgette  Collins,  x) 
is  teaching  at  Sampson  School,  Detroit.  Mich. 
Her  husband  is  in  the  Detroit  traffic  department. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Miner  Long  (Sybil  Wheaton, 
*45)  have  bought  a house  in  a new  subdivision 
in  Wichita  Falls.  Texas,  and  are  “out  in  the 
wide  open  spaces.”  It  is  their  first  home  out  of 
an  apartment.  Their  daughter  Susan  is  8 months 
old. 

Mrs.  Robert  Phelps  (Rosemarie  Beck)  had  a 
painting  reproduced  in  Art  News  in  March.  It 
was  one  of  the  illustrations  in  an  article  on  mod- 
ern expressionism. 

After  completing  one  year  of  residency  at 
North  Carolina  Memorial  Hospital  in  Chapel 
Hill,  Dr.  Charles  Whitcher  has  gone  to  Duke 
Hospital  in  Durham.  N.  C.,  for  his  second  year 
of  anesthesia  residency.  His  family  now  consists 
of  two  boys  and  one  girl. 

1946 

Margaret  Amberson  returned  to  the  U.  S.  in 
late  February,  after  spending  S months  in  Eur- 
ope, most  of  it  with  friends  in  Britain.  She  vis- 
ited her  sister  in  California  during  March  and 
reported  that  plans  for  the  summer  were  still  in- 
definite, though  she  would  eventually  secure  a 
position  in  occupational  therapy. 

Mary  Jane  Corry  has  been  studying  and  teach- 
ing piano  in  the  preparatory  department  of 
Northwestern  University  this  year.  In  the  fall 
she  goes  out  to  Walla  Walla,  Wash.,  to  teach 
piano  at  Whitman  College. 

Mrs.  Robert  Reiff  (Helen  Hayslctte)  is  a sec- 
retary for  a construction  firm  in  St.  Cloud,  Minn. 


Her  husband  will  conduct  a tour  of  students  to 
Europe  this  summer  for  Dr.  Louis  Lord’s 
Bureau  of  University  Travel.  Bob  recently  won 
a prize  for  a painting  entered  in  the  Western 
New  York  show  at  the  Albright  Gallery  in  Buf- 
falo. 

Emmert  Schaur,  x,  is  working  for  the  Met- 
ropolitan Edison  Co.  in  York,  Pa. 

Midge  Sutherland  is  working  at  the  Benton  & 
Bowles  advertising  agency  in  New  York  City, 
and  would  welcome  Oberlin  visitors — 118  W. 

13  St. 

Chaplain  Francis  Wise,  t,  writes:  “Back  from 
Manila.  Philippines.  Returned  the  wrong-way’ 
to  make  round-the-world  jaunt,  stopping  in 
Germany  long  enough  to  pick  up  the  oddity  of 
Chanute  AFB  — commonly  referred  to  as  the 
‘Blue  Bug’  (a  three-wheeled  Messersclimitt) . 
Family  flew  home  via  Honolulu.  We  have  bought 
a home  in  Rantoul,  111.,  just  outside  the  Chanute 
AFB.  Our  choir  now  composes  as  many  as 
formerly  attended  the  chapel,  so  work  progresses 
nicely.” 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Copeland  (Alice  Tear.  ’48) 
have  bought  a house  at  1807  Vollmer  Drive, 
Glenshaw,  Pa.  “The  house  is  in  Ml.  Royal  Vil- 
lage. a lovely  residential  area  dating  from  1940.” 
This  summer  John  will  be  teaching  graduate 
courses  in  the  philosophy  of  education  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Illinois.  He  is  assistant  professor  of 
philosophy  at  the  University  of  Pittsburgh. 

1947 

Dorothy  Downing  is  teaching  French,  Spanish 
and  English  at  the  dependents’  high  school  on 
Clark  Air  Force  Base  in  the  Philippine  Island. 

Since  completing  his  Ph.D.  degree  in  physical 
chemistry  at  the  University  of  Michigan  in  1954, 
Robert  Euler  has  been  working  for  the  du  Pont 
Company.  He  is  a research  chemist  at  their 
plant  in  Waynesboro,  Va.,  working  on  “orlon” 
research.  Bob  married  Dorothy  Benson  in  1951. 
They  have  two  children,  a boy  4 and  a girl  1$4. 

Arthur  Kratzert  is  a civil  engineer  and  is  liv- 
ing in  Meriden,  Conn. 

Frederick  R.  Strasburg  is  assistant  minister  of 
South  Congregational  Church,  Springfield,  Mass. 
He  is  completing  his  third  year  at  Andover  New- 
ton Theological  Seminary. 

Mrs.  William  Wakefield  (Marilyn  Snyder) 
writes:  “Bill's  new  job  of  tax  assessor  and  col- 
lector for  the  Palmer  School  District  and  city 
of  Palmer,  Alaska,  takes  us  to  this  town  in  the 
heart  of  the  Matanuska  Valley,  the  agricultural 
center  of  Alaska.  Willy,  5,  Cindy,  4,  and  Steve, 
2,  will  be  well-versed  on  this  section  of  Alaska. 
Are  there  any  other  Oberlinians  here?” 

1948 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  Judson  Albaugh  (Carolyn  Dar- 
ling. ’51)  are  in  Syracuse.  N.  Y.,  where  Jud  is 
a psychiatrist  at  the  VA  Hospital  and  Carolyn  is 
busy  with  Nancy  Jeannette,  17  months,  and  1 at 
ricia  Jane,  5 months.  They  are  enjoying  the 
art  exhibits  and  concerts  in  Syracuse,  and  are 
active  in  the  First  Baptist  Church. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Marshall  H.  Bull  (Elizabeth 
Carr)  of  Brookhaven.  N.  Y.,  announce  the  birth 
of  their  second  child,  Jonathan  Douglas,  on  Jan. 
25. 

William  P.  Davis,  Jr.,  writes:  “Barbara  and 
I are  enjoying  Dartmouth  very  much.  We  re 
living  about  9 miles  out  in  the  country  in  a beau- 
tiful house  at  Etna,  N.  H.  Glynis  and  Jennifer 
(born  Oct.  6)  are  enjoying  it  too.” 

Mrs.  John  Jolley,  Jr.  (Shirley  Kjeldsen) 
writes:  “We  have  been  in  Washington  since 
September,  while  John  has  been  in  a training  pro- 
gram in  the  Department  of  the  Interior.  We  are 
going  back  to  Fort  Hall  Reservation  (in  Idaho) 
on  April  20  and  hope  it  will  be  a long  time  before 
we  leave  the  west,'  the  mountains  and  our  dog . 

George  Richard  Ross  is  tabulating  manager  of 
Argus  Camera,  Inc.,  in  Ann  Arbor.  Mich. 
George  and  his  wife  have  a family  of  five  clul- 
(Iren. 

1949 

Don  Campbell,  line  coach  at  Fatrvtew  High 
School  (O.)  last  season,  has  been  promoted  to 
head  coach. 

After  completing  their  first  term  as  mission- 
aries under  the  Methodist  Church  in  India,  Rev., 
l and  Mrs.  Maran  Garrison  have  spent  this 
year  on  furlough,  studying  at  the  University  of 


Toledo.  Maran  will  receive  his  M.A.  degree  in 
sociology  in  June.  During  his  first  term  in 
India,  he  was  superintendent  of  the  Puntamba 
District  of  the  Bombay  Conference;  on  his  re- 
turn to  India  in  May,  he  will  become  superinten- 
dent of  the  Poona  District. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Robert  Hodgkinson  (Esther 
Kissane)  have  purchased  a home  at  1535  Win- 
chester St.,  Lyndhurst.  O.  Bob  is  teaching  mu- 
sic in  the  South  Euclid- Lyndhurst  public  schools. 

Eugene  Jones,  x.  is  teaching  at  the  Washing- 
ton State  College  of  Education  in  Ellensburg, 
Wash. 

Rev.  Tunnie  Martin,  Jr.,  t,  is  a missionary 
with  the  Methodist  Church,  serving  in  Lodhipur. 
Shakjahanpur,  U.P.,  India. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kent  Miller  (Joanne  Tucker, 
m’50)  live  in  Slingerlands,  N.  Y..  a suburb  of 
Albany.  Kent  is  a scientist  with  the  New  York 
State  Health  Department. 

Eva  Sandis  is  a sociologist  at  the  Human  Re- 
sources Research  Office.  George  Washington 
University,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Rev.  and  Mrs.  David  Stambaugh  (Harriet 
Heywood)  have  a second  daughter,  Ann  Brady, 
born  on  March  12.  Susan  is  two  years  old  and 
“pleased  as  wc  with  the  new  sister.”  Dave  is 
at  Trinity  Cathedral  in  Cleveland. 


1950 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Theodore  Conner  (Kathryn 
Wahlgren.  ’48)  and  their  two  boys  moved  from 
Connersville  to  Kokomo,  Tnd..  in  February.  Ted 
is  a salesman  for  Socony  Mobil  Oil  Co.  While 
they  were  in  Connersville.  Kay  was  director  of 
music  for  their  church  and  had  a number  of  pri- 
vate pupils.  Ted  was  active  in  Rotary,  and  they 
both  were  in  a vocal  ensemble  group  in  Rich- 
mond. They  hope  to  see  Oberlin  friends  passing 
through  Kokomo  — 605  Holly  Lane. 


Mr.  and  Mrs.  Richard  Duggan  (Jean  Mit- 
chell) announce  the  birth  of  Mary  Martha  on 
March  22.  Their  son,  David,  is  now  3 years 
old.  Dick  is  attending  the  U.S.  Naval  Post- 
graduate School  in  Monterey,  Calif.,  taking  a 
three-year  course  in  electronics  engineering. 


Mr.  and  Mrs.  Philip  Gehring  (Betty  Burns) 
announce  the  birth  of  Thomas  Carl  on  March  10 
in  Davidson.  N.  C.  Their  daughter.  Kristin, 
will  be  four  next  July. 

Margaret  Temple  and  Duncan  Goldthwaite 
were  married  in  Trinity  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church.  Hattiesburg,  Miss.,  on  Feb.  4. 

Harold  Hempling,  m.  is  teaching  and  doing 
some  research  in  the  department  of  physiology 
at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  School  of 
Medicine.  He  lives  at  944  Rocklvn  Rd..  Spring- 
field.  Pa. 


Richard  Hill,  whose  stage  name  is  Richard 
Bacon,  has  the  title  role  in  The  Changeling  at 
the  Shakespeare  Theater  Workshop.  New  York 

City.  , » 

He  plavs  under  the  name  Bacon  because  Ac 
tor's  Equity  already  lias  a Richard  Hill  regis- 

Dick  recently  returned  from  Cuidad  Turjilin, 
Dominican  Republic  where  he  was  singing  in  a 
sextet  at  the  World’s  Fair. 

Richard  Hungerford,  x,  graduated  from  Hiram 
College  in  1950  and  served  in  the<3»al  Air 
Force.  This  year  he  is  studying  at  Kent  State 
University.  The  Hungerfords  have  two  children, 
Amy.  2'A.  and  Paul,  1 yr. 

Bruce  Kinsey  and  Barbara  Jane  Probst  were 
married  at  Forest  Hill  Presbyterian  Church, 
Cleveland.  O.,  in  March. 

Mr  and  Mrs.  Richard  Unde  (Janet  Huntley) 
have  a second  daughter.  Peg,  horn  on  Ma^t 
After  a summer  visit  to  her  home  in  Ann  Arbor, 
Mich  they  will  return  to  Japan  for  work  asedu- 
";tal  missionaries  under  the  Method,,.  Boa 
of  Missions.  During  their  W l>v»  75  ™ 
Japan,  they  will  study  Japanese  in  Tok  o an 
then  will  he  in  Osaka  where  Dick  will  teach 
English  at  a Japanese  university. 

Mrs.  John  Mong  (Mary  Mahood)  has  joined 

age  " Eo^erly  she  was  an  editor  with  Mae- 
millan’s  subsidiary  rights  department. 

Donald  Morrall.  x.  is  a salesman  m Dallas 
Texas,  for  Lifetime  Foam  Products  Co. 

,,  - T A ott  Tr.  (Patricia  Speelman. 

*)‘ is  leaching  in  the  Green  Bay,  Wis„  School  for 


28 


THE  OBERL 


IN  ALUMNI  MAGAZINE 


the  Deaf.  Her  husband  is  a Methodist  minister 
in  Green  Bay. 

Report  from  the  Morton  Polsters  (Jean 
Parkes,  x’52)  : "We  just  graduated  from  law 

school  at  the  U.  of  Michigan,  had  a new  baby 
girl.  Janet  Elisabeth  in  January,  and  moved  to 
Rochester.  N.  Y\,  where  Buck  is  associated  with 
a law  firm  doing  mostly  trial  work.  We  like 
the  city,  the  work,  and  most  of  all,  being  out  of 
school !” 

1951 

John  Cawelti  received  his  M.A.  degree  from 
the  State  University  of  Iowa  in  February  and 
is  continuing  study  there  for  his  Ph.D.  degree 
ii\  humanities. 

Howard  Clarke.  Jr.,  x,  is  assistant  manager 
of  the  C Lazy  U Ranch  at  Granby,  Colo. 

Marlene  Brey  of  Cuyahoga  Falls,  O.,  and 
James  M.  Denny  will  be  married  in  June.  Mar- 
lene graduated  from  Smith  College  and  is  em- 
ployed at  the  research  laboratory  of  the  Standard 
Oil  Company  in  Cleveland.  Jim  is  a graduate 
student  in  psychology  at  Western  Reserve  Uni- 
versity and  is  also  working  at  Crile  VA  Hospital. 

The  engagement  of  Margaret  Dolliver  to  Alan 
S.  Goodyear  was  announced  in  March.  Alan  is 
a graduate  of  Auckland  University  College  (New 
Zealand)  and  the  University  of  Minnesota,  and 
Margaret  is  a student  at  the  University  of  Min- 
nesota. Alan  began  a new  job  as  a civil  engineer 
in  British  Columbia  in  April.  A June  wedding 
is  planned. 

Sam  Feinstein  is  completing  his  fifth  year  of 
teaching  strings  and  orchestra  in  the  public 
schools  in  Cheyenne,  Wyo.  He  expects  to  go 
to  Israel  next  fall. 

Harold  C.  Fritts  received  the  Ph.D.  degree 
from  Ohio  State  University  in  March. 


Maxheim 


JOINS  STAFF  AT  DRAKE  — Ellen 
(Nellie)  Stuart,  ’51,  has  joined  the 
faculty  at  Drake  University,  Des 
Moines,  Iowa,  as  associate  professor 
of  singing.  A soprano,  who  studied 
under  Miss  Marian  Sims  at  Oberlin, 
Ellen  won  high  praise  from  the  music 
critics  for  her  performance  last  De- 
cember in  singing  the  soprano  role  in 
the  Messiah,  with  a chorus  of  five 
hundred  at  the  KRNT  Theatre  Audi- 
torium in  Des  Moines.  The  presenta- 
tion is  an  annual  event  at  Drake. 
Recently  she  sang  Virgil  Thompson’s 
Stabat  Mater  for  soprano  and  string 
quartet  at  a regional  convention  of 
MTNA.  The  Drake  faculty  string 
quartet  played.  She  is  soloist  at  Grace 
Methodist  Church  in  Des  Moines  and 
has  made  a number  of  TV  appear- 
ances in  the  area. 


Mr.  and  Mrs.  Richard  D.  Johnson  (Virginia 
Talbot)  announce  the  birth  of  Garth  Talbot  on 
March  9.  They  live  at  1506  Olive  St.,  Coatcs- 
villc,  Pa. 

Sylvan  ("Tommy")  Joseph,  Jr.,  spent  the  past 
year  in  Europe  on  an  architectural  fellowship. 
He  is  now  working  for  Abraham  W.  Geller,  well 
known  contemporary  architect,  in  New  York 
City.  "Should  any  of  my  friends  come  to  New 
York,  I will  be  very  glad  to  swap  tales  with 
them  at  417  Park  Avenue.” 

After  full  time  study  in  English  literature  at 
Brown  University  during  1954-55.  David  McKay 
is  now  an  instructor  and  continuing  graduate 
study  on  a part-time  basis. 

Salvatore  Martirano  has  won  a Rome  Prize 
Fellowship  for  1956-57  for  study  at  the  Ameri- 
can Academy  in  Rome,  Italy.  He  will  study 
musical  composition. 

Dr.  Alden  R.  Parker  is  interning  at  University 
Hospital,  Ann  Arbor  Mich.,  and  will  start  a 
three-year  dermatology  residency  there  in  July. 
Ilis  wife,  Mary  Abrams  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  is  a 
senior  in  the  School  of  Education  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Michigan.  They  have  a son  Matthew 
Adams.  14  months  old. 

Bruce  Swinehart  has  completed  his  Ph.D.  de 
gree  in  chemistry  at  Purdue  University  and  is  a 
chemist  at  Mallinckrodt  Chemical  Works  in  St. 
Louis.  He  is  living  at  1518  Swallow  Drive, 
Brentwood,  Mo. 

On  Feb.  1,  Rev.  Rexford  Tucker  became  pas 
tor  of  the  newly  federated  Schaghticoke  (N.  Y.) 
Federated  Church,  in  which  Methodist  and  Pres- 
byterian churches  have  joined  forces. 

1952 

Noel  Adams  completed  his  Navy  service  in 
April  and  has  a job  with  the  Alcoa  Steamship 
Company.  He  will  be  working  in  their  New 
Orleans,  La.,  office. 

James  Beck  spent  last  year  studying  painting 
in  Italy.  He  is  now  leaching  school  in  New 
Y'ork  City,  but  will  return  to  Italy  this  summer 
to  be  married. 

Cecilia  Bradbeer  and  Dr.  Maarten  Smit  Sib- 
inga  of  New  Yrork  were  married  in  the  Presby- 
terian Church  in  Swarthmore,  Pa.,  on  March  17. 
Maarten  graduated  from  Leiden  University  Med- 
ical School  and  is  on  the  staff  of  the  pediatrics 
department  of  New  Y^ork  University-Bellevue 
Medical  Center. 

Robert  Buechner,  Jr.,  is  in  the  advertising  de- 
partment of  the  Cleveland  office  of  Crowell-Col- 
lier  Publishing  Co. 

Pvt.  Cornelius  "Mickey”  Cochrane  is  sta- 
tioned at  Fort  Sam  Houston.  Texas,  and  is  as- 
signed to  work  in  Special  Services.  He  is  en- 
gaged to  Patricia  Ketcham  of  White  Plains, 
N.  Y.,  a junior  at  Goucher  College.  Wedding 
plans  are  indefinite,  depending  on  his  Army  as- 
signment. 

Warren  Dusenbury,  x,  graduated  from  Yale 
University  and  is  completing  his  M.B.A.  degree 
at  Harvard  Graduate  School  of  Business  Ad- 
ministration this  spring.  lie  was  recently  named 
as  one  of  the  1956  Baker  Scholars,  the  highest 
scholastic  honor  given  to  students,  bestowed  each 
year  on  the  top  five  per  cent  of  the  second  year 
students. 

Ralph  Edson,  Jr.,  is  a production  trainee  at 
the  Ansonia  (Conn.)  plant  of  the  American 
Brass  Co. 

"You  Can  Own  8 Airplanes”  by  Fritz  Harsh- 
barger  in  the  April  1 issue  of  the  American 
Weekly  describes  the  flying  club  the  "Sky  Roarn- 
ers”  of  Burbank,  Calif.,  and  their  experiences  in 
"pooling”  flying  time  and  planes  and  "flying 
around  the  country  because  it’s  the  cheapest,  fast- 
est and  safest  way  to  travel.” 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Robert  Kelly  (Carol  Nuelsen) 
have  moved  to  San  Marino,  Calif.  Bob  is  a 
junior  executive  in  a veterinary  pharmaceutical 
firm  and  Carol  is  working  as  a bookkeeper  in 
Gardena. 

Robert  McKay  finished  his  Ph.D.  in  organic 
chemistry  at  the  University  of  Wisconsin  in 
March  and  has  begun  work  at  the  Polychemicals 
Department  of  the  du  Pont  Company.  His  wife 
(Ginnic  Long.  ’51)  "retired”  from  her  secretar- 
ial job  in  Madison,  Wis.,  in  early  February  — 
their  “first  clan  member”  Lynn  Ann  arrived  on 
Feb.  29.  They  are  getting  settled  in  an  apart- 
ment at  36A  Court  Drive,  Lancaster  Court 
Apartments,  Wilmington,  Del.,  and  hope  to  see 
Oberlin  faces  soon.  . . . 


A picture  of  Mrs.  Bruce  Pennybacker  (Dolly 
Kang,  x)  and  her  daughter,  Mindy,  appeared  in 
the  Feb.  6 issue  of  Life  Magazine  illustrating  an 
article  on  "Celebrating  the  Birthday  of  a Four- 
Year-Old.”  Mindy  is  the  youngest  pupil  at  the 
Gesell  Institute,  child  development  school  at 
Yrale  University.  Her  father,  x'51,  is  a student 
at  Y'ale  Law  School. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  R.  Thomas  Priestley  (Marilyn 
Seagrave,  x)  are  in  Los  Angeles,  Calif.  Tom  is 
an  aeronautical  engineer  at  Douglas  Aircraft 
Corp.,  and  Marilyn  is  studying  part-time  at  Uni- 
versity of  Southern  California. 

Susan  Randolph  and  Harold  Boverman  were 
married  on  Feb.  10  in  Phoenix.  Ariz.  Hal  grad- 
uated from  the  University  of  California  at  Berke- 
ley and  is  a fourth  year  medical  student  at  the 
University  of  Chicago.  After  her  graduation, 
Susan  taught  a year  in  Phoenix,  Ariz.,  studied 
in  Germany  a year,  and  taught  first  grade  and 
played  in  the  Symphony  in  Birmingham,  Ala. 
This  year  she  is  teaching  third  grade  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Chicago  Laboratory  School.  After 
Hal’s  internship  next  year  in  Madison,  Wis.,  he 
will  probably  go  into  pediatrics.  Sue  and  Hal 
will  welcome  Oberlin  visitors  at  5220  Kenwood 
Ave.,  Chicago. 

Pvt.  James  Vermilya  writes:  "In  the  fall  of 
1954,  I received  a master’s  degree  in  botany  at 
the  University  of  Minnesota.  Then  Uncle  Sam 
drafted  me  into  the  Army  and  at  present  T am  a 
lab  technician  in  a dispensary  at  the  Rocky  Ml. 
Arsenal  near  Denver. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harold  B.  Ware  (Laura  Gala- 
tha)  announce  the  "launching”  of  Leslie  Wrenn 
Ware  on  Feb.  22  at  Women’s  Hospital,  Cleve- 
land, O. 

1953 

After  completing  Military  Service  last  Decem- 
ber, Frank  Blume  headed  for  Boston.  Pie  is  a 
Technical  Research  Assistant  at  M.  I.  T.  work- 
ing on  an  experimental  project  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Herbert  Jenkins,  ’48,  who  is  teaching 
Psychology  at  M.  I.  T. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  Bryan  (Mary  Driscoll,  x) 
are  in  Norfolk,  Va.  Jim  is  employed  in  the  In- 
land Waterways  Division  of  Esso  Standard  Oil 
Co.  They  have  two  children. 

An  August  wedding  is  planned  by  Jane  Ster- 
rett  and  Sam  "Lee”  Caldwell.  Jane,  a graduate 
of  Clarion  (Pa.)  State  Teachers  College,  is  teach- 
ing in  Shaker  Heights.  O.  Sam  is  a junior  in 
the  School  of  Dentistry  at  Western  Reserve  Uni- 
versity. 

After  his  release  from  the  Army  last  fall. 
Roger  Hahn  enrolled  at  Ohio  State  University 
as  a graduate  assistant  in  chemistry. 

James  Lancashire  has  been  transferred  from 
George  Air  Force  Base  to  McClellan  Air  Force 
Base.  It’s  a move  from  the  desert  area  to  civili- 
zation, as  McClellan  is  near  Sacramento,  Cali- 
fornia. 

Chaplain  Sterling  L.  Long,  t,  writes:  "Arrived 
at  Fort  Huachuca.  Ariz.,  in  January  after  16 
months  of  duty  in  the  Far  East.  It  was  a rich 
experience  and  many  insights  were  gained  from 
how  people  live  in  that  part  of  the  world.  Dur- 
ing the  months  in  Korea  was  the  greatest  lesson 
I have  had  in  appreciation  for  the  U.  S.  and  its 
ways  of  life.” 

Marcia  Mattson  and  Robert  T.  Curran  plan  to 
be  married  in  May.  Marcia  has  been  secretary 
in  the  Office  of  the  National  Committee  for  an 
Effective  Congress  in  Washington.  Bob  gradu- 
ated from  Haverford  College  in  1953  and  took 
his  Master’s  in  history  at  Columbia  University. 
He  is  working  for  the  U.  S.  Information  Service, 
and  he  and  Marcia  will  be  going  to  West  Berlin 
in  late  May. 

Report  from  Lt.  (j.g.)  and  Mrs.  John  L. 
Nicholson,  Jr.  (Evelyn  Sadona,  x)  from  Jack 
sonville,  Fla. : "We  are  property  owners  now  - 
bought  a lovely  house  with  a huge  yard.  The 
twins,  Jenny  and  Jackie,  and  Paula  arc  fine. 
John  is  in  Cuba  for  gunnery  practice  and  about 
the  end  of  July  will  leave  for  the  Mediterranean.” 

Steve  Nordlinger  is  on  the  staff  of  the  Sunday 
News  of  Ridgewood,  N.  J. 

A/2c  Gus  Potter  has  been  transferred  to  Shep- 
pard Air  Force  Base,  Wichita  Falls,  Texas. 

Dorothy  Prince  is  in  charge  of  the  audio-visual 
center  at  the  Agricultural  and  Technical  College 
of  North  Carolina.  The  school  has  an  enrollment 
of  2500.  "The  Center  is  in  the  embryonic  stage, 
but  I have  dreams  and  plans.  There  is  never  a 
dull  moment  as  I am  technician,  consultant,  pro- 


FOR  MAY  1956 


29 


ANCHORS  AWEIGH  — Three  recent  draftees  meet  at  the  United  States  Navy 
boot  camp  at  Bainbridge,  Md.  They  are  (left  to  right):  George  Kaufman  ’54 
John  Van  Steenwyk,  ’53,  and  Kyle  Jones,  x’55.  At  the  time  the  photo  was  taken] 
George  was  about  to  leave  for  duty  at  Little  Creek,  Va.,  John  was  assigned  to 
the  supply  department  of  a submarine  tender,  (the  USS  Orion  which  is  docked 
more  or  less  permanently  in  Norfolk),  and  Kyle  was  scheduled  to  report  to  the 
USS  New  Jersey  battleship. 


jectionist,  teacher  and  secretary.  In  addition  to 
my  center  duties  I have  a part-time  teaching 
job.” 

The  engagement  of  Natalie  Rojansky  to 
Brooks  Tillotson  was  announced  in  March.  Nat- 
alie is  studying  music  composition  at  Columbia 
and  Brooks  is  studying  French  horn  at  Juilliard 
School  of  Music.  A spring  wedding  is  planned. 

Since  July,  1955.  Felicia  Spira  has  been  in  Is- 
rael. She  is  working  as  a research  psychologist 
in  testing  for  the  Israeli  Civil  Service  Commis- 
sion in  Jerusalem,  but  plans  to  return  to  the 
States  in  July  and  to  resume  her  graduate  study 
in  the  fall. 

After  completing  military  service  last  Decem- 
ber, Alan  Wadsworth  worked  temporarily  for  the 
A & P Tea  Company  for  retailing  experience 
and  for  a market  research  firm  on  surveys.  In 
April  he  joined  the  training  program  of  Leo  Bur- 
nett, Inc.,  the  largest  advertising  agency  in  Chi- 
cago. 

Pvt.  Thomas  E.  Warner  is  with  the  24th  Di- 
vision Band  in  the  Far  East. 

1954 

Pvt.  Allen  L.  Beatty  and  Margaret  E.  Coon 
planned  to  be  married  April  6,  but  we  have  no 
details  as  yet.  Allen  is  stationed  at  Fort  Knox, 
Ky. 

Pfc.  Frank  Connor  writes:  ‘'I’ve  been  sta- 
tioned with  an  army  unit  at  the  Keflanik  base  in 
Iceland  for  almost  8 months  now,  but  will  be 
returning  to  the  States  for  discharge  about  the 
middle  of  July.  I’m  the  communications  chief 
in  an  infantry  unit  at  present.  I don’t  recom- 
mend Iceland  as  the  ideal  vacation  spot  for  any- 
one! My  wife,  Dorothy  Crawford,  ’55,  is  wait- 
ing for  me  in  New  Hampshire.” 

Mr.,  m.  and  Mrs.  William  Garee  (Betty  Boyd, 
’48)  announce  the  birth  of  James  Frederick  on 
Feb.  24  in  Fostoria,  O. 

Pvt.  Charles  Howard  Goodrich  writes:  ‘‘I’ve 
endured  a chilly  winter  in  Friedberg,  Germany, 
and  am  looking  forward  to  summer.  Thus  far 
I 've  visited  Paris,  a most  impressive  city,  and 
Borchtesgaden  down  in  the  beautiful  Bavarian 
Alps.  I shall  return  to  the  Slates  late  in  the 
summer  to  be  released  from  the  service  and  then 
soon  thereafter  marriage  to  Leslyn  Michels,  ’55, 
and  then  graduate  study  in  preparation  for  a 
teaching  career.  If  any  Oberlinians  arc  in  Fried- 
berg or  Frankfurt  this  summer,  I’d  be  more  than 
happy  to  see  them.” 

Hope  Griswold  and  Daniel  Murrow  will  be 
married  in  June.  Hope  is  completing  her  mas- 
ter’s degree  at  the  New  York  School  of  Social 
Work  this  spring  and  Dan  is  a graduate  student 
in  sociology  at  New  York  University. 

Charles  Habernigg  is  working  in  urban  rede- 
velopment and  slum  clearance  projects  in  New 
Haven,  Conn. 

Mary  Kaserman  is  an  occupational  therapy 
student  at  Columbia  University. 


Sp./3  Charles  William  Keighin  has  been  trans- 
ferred from  El  Paso,  Texas  to  Fort  Sill,  Okla. 
He  is  with  the  H & S Btry.,  246th  FA  MS/Bn. 

Lt.  Beryl  Warden,  Jr.,  x,  is  an  Air  Force 
pilot,  stationed  at  the  Greenville  (Miss.)  Air 
Force  Base. 

Lt.  and  Mrs.  James  E.  Watkins,  Jr.  (Carol 
Wightman)  have  been  transferred  from  Texas  to 
Westover  Air  Force  Base,  Mass.  Jim  is  a navi- 
gator with  the  380th  Air  Refueling  Squadron. 

Lt.  and  Mrs.  Alan  Whitfield  (Dianne  Morgan, 
x)  are  in  Dayton,  O.  Alan  is  stationed  at  Wright 
Patterson  Air  Force  Base  and  Dianne  is  work- 
ing as  a secretary. 

1955 

Larry  Bandfield  reports  that  after  one  semester 
in  Michigan  Law  School,  he  decided  that  law 
was  not  for  him,  and  transferred  to  the  School 
of  Education,  where  he  is  completing  certificate 
requirements  for  teaching  social  studies  in  high 
school. 

Olivia  C.  Scheuer  of  New  York  City  and  W. 
Wayne  Battelle,  Jr.,  x,  were  married  at  her  home 
on  Feb.  26.  They  are  living  in  Williamstown, 
Mass. 

Frances  Cressey  and  Bradbury  Seasholes  an- 
nounced their  engagement  on  March  29.  They 
plan  to  be  married  in  Syracuse,  New  York,  on 
Aug.  31  and  invite  all  friends  there  to  attend. 
Brad  is  a grad  student  at  the  University  of  North 
Carolina  and  expects  to  finish  his  Master’s  de- 
gree next  February.  Franny  is  a social  worker 
in  Boston  and  will  plan  to  work  in  the  Chapel 
Hill  area  next  year. 

The  engagement  of  Jimmie  Sue  Evans  and 
David  Daniels  was  announced  in  March.  Sue  is 
teaching  at  home  in  Steubenville,  O.,  this  year, 
and  Dave  is  a graduate  student  in  musicology  at 
Boston  University. 

Mrs.  B.  Frank  Foster  (Sara  Pennegar,  x)  is 
a secretary  at  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Chris- 
tian Education  in  Philadelphia. 

Henry  Jadow  is  one  of  the  25  first-year  stu- 
dents at  Yale  Law  School  appointed  to  the  edi- 
torial board  of  the  Yale  Law  Journal,  a monthly 
review  published  by  Law  School  students. 

Sarah  Kagy  and  Donald  Diller  were  married 
at  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  in  East  St. 
Louis,  III.,  on  March  3.  Don  spent  four  years 
with  the  Navy  in  the  Pacific  and  is  now  a senior 
in  education  at  the  University  of  Illinois. 

Louis  Malucci  reported  for  Air  Force  duty  in 
Texas  in  March,  lie  drove  from  Rochester,  New 
York,  stopping  to  see  a number  of  Oberlin 
friends  on  the  way.  John  Palmer  and  Jim  Kin- 
caid are  also  stationed  at  Lackland. 

Katherine  Matthews  and  George  Shambaugh, 
3rd,  '54,  announced  their  engagement  in  March. 
They  are  both  in  New  York  this  year,  Kather- 
ine studying  physical  therapy  at  Columbia  Uni- 
versity and  George  a second  year  student  at 
Cornell  Medical  School. 


The  engagement  ot  Elma  Matthias  to  Carl 
Tyler,  Jr.,  has  been  announced.  A June  wedding 
is  planned. 

Anita  Schneer,  x,  professionally  known  as  An- 
ita  Sheer,  is  with  Carlos  Montoya,  Flamenco 
guitarist,  as  guitarist  and  vocalist.  They  ap- 
peared in  a Flamenco  Concert  at  the  Brooklyn 
Academy  of  Music  on  March  31. 

Michael  Siegel  has  been  appointed  assistant 
instructor  in  psychology  at  Douglass  College, 
New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  and  is  also  continuing 
his  graduate  study  at  Rutgers  University. 

So  Well  Remembered 

(Continued  from  page  19) 

more  hospitals,  more  knowledge,  and 
more  facilities,  the  Oberlin  hospital 
has  steadily  gone  upwards  to  greater 
and  finer  services,  — so  that  its  distinc- 
tiveness of  superiority  continues?  Or 
did  we,  as  it  was  easy  for  us  easy-going 
ones  of  40  years  ago,  simply  think  that 
our  hospital  would  just  go  on  being  a 
pretty  good  hospital  for  a town  of  our 
size,  and  never  give  a thought  to  the 
wonderful  day  when  a whole  health 
center  might  be  developed  around  it 
that  would  amaze  the  founders  of  this 
prime  community? 

TN  1916,  WILDER  HALL,  then  the 
L Men's  Building,  gave  the  college  a 
definite  distinctiveness,  at  least  among 
Ohio  colleges,  as  an  early  experiment 
in  student  men’s  unions.  I think  it  so 
typical  of  the  course  of  our  growth  here 
that  we  remained  content  and  incurious 
as  to  what  imaginations  and  generosi- 
ties had  produced  it;  and  once  again 
with  the  personal  privilege  I humbly 
thank  Mr.  Wilder,  now  that  1 know 
at  last  who  it  was  that  afforded  me 
social  and  recreational  delights  for  my 
college  hours  which  were  beyond  any 
of  my  previous  experiences.  But  there 
will  be  other  Mr.  Wilders;  and  if  the 
graciousness  and  comforts  of  Oberlin 
College  today  seem  awesome  and  im- 
pressive to  us  old  timers,  let  us  all  try 
to  shake  off  our  diffidence  and  our 
modesty  and  our  humility  long  enough 
to  dream  of  the  days  when  no  colleges 
in  the  world  will  be  more  beautiful, 
lovely,  or  attractive  than  this  very  same 
old  Oberlin  of  ours,  with  which  we 
have  lived  so  closely  as  not  to  have  al- 
ways noticed  her  vigorous  appeal  and 
her  swift  risings  to  the  acceptance  and 
admiration  of  the  good  people  every- 
where. . . . 

I know  you  have  discerned  whatever 
of  moral  I have  put  into  these  wander- 
ing words.  It  is  that  our  College  is  a 
very  great  and  singular  college;  that  it 
will  increase  in  its  attraction  to  the 
people  everywhere  who  will  nourish 
and  expand  and  beautify  it;  and  drat 
its  inseverable  twin,  the  community 
of  Oberlin,  needs  only  to  realize  its 
own  strength  and  talents  to  grow  to 
be  the  most  shining  college-town  com- 
munity in  all  this  wide  republic. 


30 


THE  OBERLIN  ALUMNI  MAGAZINE 


LOSSES  IN  THE  OBERLIN  FAMILY 


1891 

EMERY  — Mrs.  Rufus  Franklin  Emery  (Alice 
Jones)  died  Sunday,  April  8,  in  Buenos  Aires, 
Argentina,  at  the  home  of  her  son,  Rufus  IT. 
Emery,  ’23,  and  her  daughter-in-law,  the  former 
E.  Louise  Hyde,  ’23.  This  was  her  twelfth  trip 
to  Buenos  Aires.  She  was  87  years  old. 

Born  in  Ebensburg,  Pennsylvania,  June  24, 
1868,  she  spent  her  early  life  in  Pittsburgh.  After 
graduating  from  Oberlin  in  1891  with  an  L.B. 
degree,  Alice  worked  for  three  years  with  re- 
tarded children  in  Columbus,  then,  in  1894,  mar- 
ried a former  high  school  classmate,  Rufus  F. 
Emery.  They  made  their  home  in  Pittsburgh, 
where  Mr.  Emery  was  associated  with  the  West- 
inghouse  Air  Brake  Company  and  was  secretary- 
treasurer  at  the  time  of  his  death  in  1918. 

Both  Alice  and  her  husband  were  active  mem- 
bers of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Pittsburgh, 
until  the  time  of  his  death.  Her  interest  in  the 
life  of  the  Church  never  flagged.  She  played  an 
active  part  in  the  work  of  the  Young  Women’s 
Christian  Association  and  in  the  American  As- 
sociation of  University  Women.  She  represented 
these  organizations  in  several  of  their  interna- 
tional conventions  in  Hawaii  and  Poland.  She 
was  one  of  the  founders  and  a past  president  of 
the  Edgewood  Woman’s  Club  and  was  active  in 
the  affairs  of  the  College  Club  of  Pittsburgh. 

One  of  Oberlin’s  most  active  anl  loyal  alumni, 
Alice  was  Class  Secretary  continuously  since  her 
graduation  in  1891.  Her  lively  interest  in  edu- 
cational affairs,  in  her  classmates,  and  in  young 
people,  kept  her  young  and  active.  Her  gener- 
ous gifts  helped  many  a struggling  student 
through  college. 

Besides  her  son  Rufus.  ’23,  of  Buenos  Aires, 
she  is  survived  by  her  daughter  Mrs.  Margaret 
Allen,  k’18,  of  Oberlin  and  three  grandchildren: 
Mrs.  Marjorie  M.  Groom,  x’42,  of  Washington, 
D.  C. ; Mrs.  C.  M.  Carrick  (Marian  Allen,  x'54) 
of  Fairview  Park.  Ohio;  and  William  R.  Emery, 
’52,  of  Mexico  City. 

1893 

DAYKIN  — Annette  Daykin  died  February  5 
at  her  borne  in  Cleveland,  Ohio.  She  was  85 
years  old. 

Born  in  Cleveland,  May  28,  1870,  she  attended 
Oberlin  College  from  1889  to  1891.  Annette  was 
the  last  member  of  her  immediate  family. 
Throughout  her  lifetime  Annette  belonged  to  the 
Pilgrim  Congregational  Church  of  Cleveland,  and 
was  a former  member  of  the  Women’s  City  Club. 
Several  nephews  survive  her. 


1896 


JOHNSON  — Mrs.  William  Edward  Johnson 
(Emma  Eugenia  Hart)  died  December  13,  1955, 
at  Mesilla  Park,  New  Mexico,  of  a heart  attack 
following  nine  years  of  being  bedridden  with 
partial  paralysis.  She  was  83  years  old. 

Born  in  Lysander,  New  York,  May  6,  1872, 
she  graduated  from  Oberlin  in  1896.  For  the 
next  three  years  she  taught  in  Calhoun,  Alabama, 
and  from  1899  to  1907  she  taught  school  in  Hon- 
olulu. Hawaii.  It  was  there  that  she  met  Wil- 
liam Edward  Johnson,  a mining  contractor.  They 
were  married  in  New  Mexico  in  1907,  and  during 
the  following  few  years  Mr.  Johnson’s  profession 
took  them  to  many  parts  of  the  United  States 
and  Mexico.  He  died  in  1953. 

From  1926  to  1937  Emma’s  career  included 
7th  and  8th  grade  teaching  in  New  Mexico  and 
working  in  Indian  Schools  at  Ysleta  Pueblo  near 
Albuquerque  and  at  Window  Rock,  Arizona. 

Her  survivors  include  a brother,  H.  H.  Hart 
of  Jensen  Beach,  Florida;  two  daughters,  Mrs. 
Barbara  Johnson  Winger,  x’32,  of  Grand  Junc- 
tion. Colorado  and  Mrs.  M.  T.  Everhart  of  Me- 
silla Park  and  Hachita,  New  Mexico;  and  a son, 
W.  H.  Johnson  of  Las  Cruces,  New  Mexico. 


SLAYTON  — Mrs.  William  Taft  Slayton  (Har- 
riet Edna  Chamberlain)  died  in  Des  Moines. 
Iowa,  on  December  4,  1955. 

Born  in  Dubuque,  Iowa,  in  the  early  1870’s, 
she  taught  Latin  and  history  for  twelve  years  in 
high  schools  in  Iowa,  Minnesota,  Illinois  and 
Wisconsin,  following  her  graduation  from  Ober- 
lin in  1896. 

From  1912  to  1926  Harriet  was  superintendent 
of  the  Rutledge  Home  for  the  Aged  in  Chippewa 
halls,  Wisconsin.  She  married  William  Taft 


Slavton,  a physician  in  1926.  Mr.  Slayton  died 
in  1931. 

1898 

SCHRADER  — Harriet  Newell  Schrader,  re- 
tired Chicago  teacher,  died  in  Clifton,  Illinois, 
on  February  28  at  the  age  of  84. 

Born  in  Chehanse,  Illinois,  October  14,  1871, 
Harriet  received  her  A.B.  from  Oberlin  in  1898. 
For  the  next  38  years  she  devoted  herself  to 
teaching  in  Chicago  elementary  schools.  Upon 
retirement  in  1936,  she  took  up  residence  with 
her  sister  and  brother-in-law,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  J. 
Heller  of  Clifton,  Illinois.  With,  the  death  of 
her  brother,  Charles  Joseph  Schrader,  x’94,  in 
1947  and  his  wife  in  1948,  Harriet  wrote  that 
"their  five  children  have  made  our  home  in  Clif- 
ton their  home  whenever  they  come  to  Clifton.” 

As  she  lived  quite  close  to  Chicago,  Harriet 
was  able  happily  to  keep  in  touch  with  many 
of  the  friends  she  had  made  during  the  course  of 
her  professional  life.  In  Clifton  she  welcomed 
visits  from  Oberlin  alumni  and  busied  herself 
with  church  activities,  home  duties,  and  the  Fed- 
erated Women’s  Club. 

1903 

WILSON  — Mrs.  John  M.  Wilson  (Laura 
Edith  Laughead)  died  in  Hermosa  Beach,  Cali- 
fornia, September  20,  1955,  at  the  age  of  76. 

Born  in  Washington,  Iowa,  May  15,  1879, 
Edith  entered  Oberlin  Academy  in  1897  and 
graduated  from  the  Oberlin  Kindergarten  Train- 
ing School  in  1903.  Following  graduation  she 
was  appointed  Kindergarten  Director  of  San 
Diego  Schools,  San  Diego,  California. 

Edith  married  Dr.  John  Miller  Wilson  in  1906, 
and  they  had  three  children.  For  many  years 
they  made  their  home  in  Pasadena,  California, 
where  Dr.  Wilson  was  a practicing  cardiologist. 
He  died  in  February  of  this  year. 

Edith’s  hobbies  included  travelling  and  writ- 
ing. Good  Morning,  Mexico  and  A Candle  for 
Pepito  are  two  of  her  delightful  books  for  chil- 
dren. 

1908 

HUNT  — Mabel  Frances  Hunt  died  June  11. 
1955,  at  her  home  in  Joliet,  Illinois.  She  was 
69  years  old. 

Born  in  Orange.  Connecticut,  December  11, 
1885,  Mabel’s  mother,  Alice  Maud  Beecher 
Hunt,  attended  Oberlin  College  from  1877  to 
1878  and  from  1883  to  1884,  and  her  grandfather, 
Ward  Isaac  Hunt,  held  an  Oberlin  A.B.  1847. 
Seminary  1850,  and  A.M.  1859.  Mabel  received 
her  A.B.  from  Oberlin  in  1908  where  as  an  un- 
dergraduate she  had  been  a member  of  the  Aelio- 
ian  society.  For  the  next  twelve  years  she  taught 
in  high  schools  in  Waukesha,  Wisconsin,  and 
Blue  Island.  Illinois.  In  1920  she  joined  the 
faculty  of  Joliet  High  School,  teaching  English 
and  journalism  there  for  thirty  years. 

Keenly  interested  in  her  profession,  Mabel,  did 
graduate  study  at  the  University  of  Wisconsin 
and  the  University  of  Chicago  for  a number  of 
years. 

Survivors  include  her  mother;  a sister,  Mrs. 
Wilford  Evans,  Sheboygan,  Wisconsin;  and  a 
brother,  Elgin  F.  Hunt,  Chicago,  Illinois. 

1928 

CHRISTIANSEN  Fredrik  Melius  Christian- 
sen, founder  and  director  of  the  internationally 
famous  St.  Olaf  Lutheran  Choir,  died  June  1. 
1955,  at  Northfield,  Minnesota.  He  was  84  years 
old. 

Born  in  Eidsvold,  Norway,  April  1.  1871,  he 
came  to  America  in  1888  and  six  years  later 
graduated  from  the  Northwestern  Conservatory 
of  Music.  Oberlin  College  awarded  him  the 
honorary  degree  of  Mus.D.  in  1928. 

He  married  Edith  Signora  Lindem  in  1897 
while  he  was  studying  at  the  Royal  Conservatory 
of  Music  in  Leipzig,  Germany.  They  had  three 
sons  and  a daughter.  From  1903  until  his  re- 
tirement in  1940  he  was  director  of  the  School  of 
Music  at  St.  Olaf  College  in  Northfield. 

Author,  composer  of  church  music,  his  unique 
arrangement  of  Beautiful  Savior  has  become  a 
world  wide  favorite  with  choral  groups.  In  the 
last  concert  by  the  Oberlin  Symphony  Band  one 


of  the  numbers  played  was  his  First  Norwegian 
Rhapsody.  His  international  reputation  was  rec- 
ognized by  his  being  made  the  recipient  of  the 
Knight  of  the  Order  of  St.  Olaf,  Class  1,  con- 
ferred by  the  King  of  Norway. 

His  survivors  include  his  sons  Jake,  athletic 
director  at  Concordia  College,  Moorehead,  Min- 
nesota; Olaf,  director  of  music  at  St.  Olaf;  and 
Paul,  choir  director  at  Concordia  College;  and 
his  daughter  Elsa. 

DECKER  — Winifred  Eva  Decker,  librarian  at 
Lorain  Public  Library,  died  April  3 at  the  East- 
haven  Nursing  Home,  Elyria,  Ohio,  where  she 
had  been  a patient  for  several  months.  Her  death 
occurred  three  days  before  her  fiftieth  birthday. 

Born  April  6.  1906,  in  Elyria,  she  received  her 
A.B.  degree  from  Oberlin  in  1928.  After  two 
years  of  library  work  with  children  in  Lorain, 
she  entered  the  Library  School  of  the  University 
of  Wisconsin  and  received  her  diploma  in  1931. 
Until  1937  she  worked  as  catalogcr  at  the  Lorain 
Public  Library,  leaving  to  accept  a position  with 
the  Kenton  Public  Library,  Kenton,  Ohio.  Wini- 
fred returned  to  Lorain  Public  Library  in  1948, 
resuming  her  work  as  cataloger  until  she  became 
ill  towards  the  end  of  last  year. 

Winifred  was  a member  of  the  First  Metho- 
dist Church  of  Elyria  and  active  in  the  Carlisle 
and  Pomona  Granges. 

She  is  survived  by  her  father,  Fred  A.  Decker. 

1931 

OLMSTEAD  — - Mrs.  John  Griffith  Olmslead 
(Louise  Hutchinson),  widow  of  John  G.  Olm- 
stead,  former  Alumni  Secretary  of  Oberlin  Col- 
lege. died  at  her  home  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  April 
12.  She  was  73  years  old. 

Born  in  Elmira,  New  York,  August  2,  1882. 
Louise  received  her  A.B.  from  Ohio  State  Uni- 
versity in  1923,  and  her  A.M.  from  Oberlin 
College  in  1931.  For  six  years  prior  to  her  mar- 
riage to  John  G.  Olmstead.  ’06,  in  1909.  she 
taught  in  Canton,  Ohio,  and  Philadelphia,  Penn- 
sylvania. Mr.  Olmstead  died  in  February  of 
this  year. 

From  1932  to  1939  Louise  was  Co-director  of 
the  Olmstead  Travel  Camp  for  Girls.  The 
camp’s  program  was  to  start  out  from  Oberlin 
College  each  summer  and  visit  various  types  of 
colleges,  camping  whenever  possible  on  the  col- 
lege green  itself.  The  unique  purpose  of  the 
camp  was  to  give  the  girls  opportunity  to  see 
many  kinds  of  institutions  so  that  they,  when  the 
time  came,  could  make  intelligent  choices  as  to 
which  college  and  what  courses  best  served  their 
needs. 

Louise  had  been  at  one  time  Recording  Sec- 
retary of  the  Oberlin  Woman’s  Club.  Both  she 
and  her  husband  were  devoted  alumni  and  visited 
the  Oberlin  campus  for  Homecoming  this  past 
fall. 

She  is  survived  by  two  sons.  Allen  of  Tucson. 
Arizona,  and  John  G..  Jr.,  x’32,  of  Spokane, 
Washington. 

1945 

BARR  — - Mrs.  Richard  IT.  Barr.  Jr.  (Doris 
Jane  Hall)  died  January  29,  in  Lancaster,  Penn- 
sylvania, of  an  illness  from  which  she  had  suf- 
fered for  five  years.  Her  age  was  32. 

Born  in  Lancaster.  April  27,  1923,  Doris  was 
an  active  undergraduate  at  Oberlin.  enthusiasti- 
cally participating  in  WAA  and  Musical  Union. 
After  receiving  her  A.B.  degree  in  1945,  she 
took  a job  with  the  Armstrong  Cork  Company 
of  Lancaster  as  a chemist  in  their  research  lab- 
oratories. In  addition  to  this.  Doris  taught  in 
the  field  of  social  work  at  the  Grace  Lutheran 
Church  in  1945  and  1946.  In  1947  she  married 
Richard  PI.  Barr  who  was  associated  with  a 
large  hardware  concern  in  Lancaster.  They  had 
two  children. 

A member  of  the  Junior  League  of  Lancaster 
and  the  Bethany  Presbyterian  Church,  Doris  had 
also  served  as  corresponding  secretary  for  two 
years  in  the  Lancaster  College  Club. 

Survivors  include  her  mother.  Mrs.  Helen  E. 
Zook  Hall  of  Lancaster;  her  husband;  two  chil- 
dren. Carol  Dorothy  and  Bruce  Frederick;  a 
brother,  Ray  B.  Hall,  Jr.  of  Jeanette,  Pennsyl- 
vania; and  her  paternal  grandmother,  Mrs.  Anna 
F.  Zook  of  Lancaster. 


FOR  may  1956 


31 


There  Is  Still  Time! 


We  Must  Continue  To  Depend  On  YOUR  Concern 


To  Make  the  1956  Alumni  Fund 

A Success 


YOUR 

SERVICE  . . . 


'flu  Oberlin  Sawm  8<tnfe 

4112 


rmwxT.  (timMiT 


UMK  IBVta 


Member  F.D.I.C.  ★ Federal  Reserve  System 


DUDLEY  A.  WOOD 

Florist 

Florist  Telegraph 
Delivery 

Oberlin  Inn  Bldg. 
TELEPHONE  4-2611 


IVES  REXALL 

DRUG  STORE 

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Since  1904 

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THE  T.  0.  MURPHY  CO. 

PLUMBING 

AND 

HEATING 

CONTRACTORS 

OBERLIN,  OHIO 


CONSERVATORY  RECORDS  PRESENT  RECORDINGS  BY: 

The  Oberlin  Orchestra  — 

Symphony  No.  5 -----  - 

Elamor  Brujo  - - - - 

Til  Eulenspiegel  ------- 


The  Oberlin  College  Choir  — 
Bach  Cantata  No.  23 
Bach  Cantata  No.  122 

The  Oberlin  Harp  Festival 


Beethoven 
Derail  a 
Strain 

The  Gilbert  & Sullivan  Players  — 
Patience 

The  Yeomen  of  the  Guard 


Box  222 


OBERLIN  MUSIC  SHOP 

61  South  Main  St. 


Oberlin,  Ohio